Jordan's King Abdullah says US must push Israel to agree to ceasefire in Gaza

Jordan's King Abdullah has warned US Secretary of State Antony Blinken of the "catastrophic repercussions" of the continuation of Israel's military campaign in Gaza.

The monarch also told Blinken that Washington had a major role to play to put pressure on Israel to agree to an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, according to RTE.

Israeli aircraft fired on Palestinian militants who had attacked troops in the occupied West Bank on January 7. The officials said that six Palestinians were killed in the air strike.

An Israeli border police officer was killed and others wounded when their vehicle was hit by an explosive device during operations in the West Bank town of Jenin, the military and police said.

A helicopter helped rescue them with covering fire, the military said, adding that an aircraft fired at a "terrorist squad that hurled explosives and endangered the forces, several terrorists were killed."

The Palestinian health ministry said that six Palestinians were killed in the strike. Four of those killed were brothers, according to family members.

Blinken’s visits started his week-long trip on January 6, aimed at calming tension that has spiked since Israel's war with Hamas, which began after Hamas fighters attacked Israel three months ago, killing 1,200 people and taking 240 hostages.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed 22,700 Palestinians, Palestinian officials say, and the conflict has been observed in the West Bank, Lebanon and Red Sea shipping lanes.

The West Bank had already experienced its highest levels of unrest in decades during 18 months before the October 7 attack on Israel, but confrontations have risen sharply as Israeli forces invaded Gaza.

Blinken's tour, which started with meetings with the leaders of Türkiye and Greece, will take him to several Arab states as well as Israel and the occupied West Bank.