Arab leaders decrying the mounting civilian death toll in the Israel-Hamas war pushed for an immediate ceasefire Saturday, even as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that such a move would be counterproductive and could encourage more violence by the terror group.

After an afternoon of talks in Amman with Egyptian, Jordanian, Saudi, Qatari, and Emirati diplomats and a senior Palestinian Authority official, Blinken stood side by side at a line of podiums with his counterparts from Jordan and Egypt to discuss what he said was their shared desire to protect civilians in Gaza and improve the flow of aid to the besieged territory.

The dissonance in the messages was evident. Nonetheless, the joint news conference between ministers from the Arab world and the top diplomat from Israel’s closest ally and numerous photo opportunities contrasted with Blinken’s time in Tel Aviv on Friday, when Blinken met alone with reporters after closed-door talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

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