Jordan recalls ambassador to Israel over Gaza bombardment

AMMAN: Jordan on Wednesday announced it is immediately recalling its ambassador to Israel in response to the war in Gaza, accusing Israel of creating an “unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe”.

In a statement, Jordan’s foreign ministry said that Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi decided to “immediately” recall ambassador to Israel to reflect “Amman’s condemnation of the Israeli war that is killing innocent people in Gaza”.

The ambassador would only return to Tel Aviv if Israel halted its war on the enclave and ended “the humanitarian crisis it has caused,” Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said.

Safadi said the decision was also taken because Israel was depriving Palestinians of food, water and medicines after it launched attacks on the Gaza Strip.

Jordan was stepping up diplomatic efforts to pressure Israel to end the war, which brought “dangerous risks” of conflict spreading across the region and threatening global peace, Safadi said.

Jordanians have staged protests calling on the authorities to close the Israeli embassy and scrap the 1994 peace treaty between Israel and Jordan.

Jordan, which neighbours Israel to the east, has held a fragile peace agreement with Tel Aviv since 1994, which returned some 380 kilometres (236 miles) of Jordan’s occupied land from Israeli control and resolved longstanding water disputes.

The last time Jordan recalled its envoy to Israel was in 2019 to protest against the months-long detention of two of its citizens without charges.

However, Israel’s 26-day war in Gaza, which Palestinian officials say has killed more than 8,700 people – including more than 3,000 children, has triggered a severe regional backlash, especially in Jordan, where some three million Palestinians live.

Jordan’s King Abdullah has also spoken out against Israel’s attacks on and blockade of the crowded Palestinian enclave, saying on October 19 in a joint statement with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi that they rejected Israel’s “policy of collective punishment”.

A day earlier, at least 50 people were killed and scores wounded after an Israeli air attack hit apartment blocks in a residential area of Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza.

In a statement, Gaza’s interior ministry said an Israeli air attack hit apartment blocks in a residential area of Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, killing and wounding dozens.

The director of a nearby Indonesian Hospital says at least 50 people were killed.

Israeli troops push deeper into Gaza, with witnesses reporting heavy clashes after tanks reached a residential area, Al-Jazeera reported.

Bombardments were reported across the besieged territory as Prime Minister Netanyahu rejected calls for a ceasefire.