Blinken, Arab ministers discuss Gaza cease-fire, 2-state solution

A 6-way Arab ministerial meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on Monday discussed steps to implement a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the Saudi state news agency SPA reported.

The meeting also explored the importance of reaching an immediate and sustainable cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, ensuring the protection of civilians and facilitating access to humanitarian aid to the enclave, SPA said.

Chaired by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, the meeting was attended by the foreign ministers of Egypt, Qatar, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and the secretary-general of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)'s Executive Committee.

The meeting also discussed Arab efforts to win international recognition for the establishment of a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, SPA said.

Blinken arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday on the first leg of a regional tour that will also take him to Israel and Jordan.

Israel has waged a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7 last year, which Tel Aviv says killed nearly 1,200 people.

Nearly 34,500 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 77,600 others injured amid mass destruction and severe shortages of necessities.

More than six months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave's population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.