Jordan's King Abdullah warns of the dangers of Israel's planned Rafah military operation

The Jordanian army also arranged on Monday the biggest airdrop operation so far to deliver aid to Gaza.

 Jordan's King Abdullah II speaks during his visit to the Kigali Genocide Memorial in Kigali, Rwanda, in this handout picture released on January 8, 2024. (photo credit: ROYAL HASHEMITE COURT/REUTERS)
Jordan's King Abdullah II speaks during his visit to the Kigali Genocide Memorial in Kigali, Rwanda, in this handout picture released on January 8, 2024.
(photo credit: ROYAL HASHEMITE COURT/REUTERS)

Jordan's King Abdullah warned on Monday of the dangers of a military operation planned by Israel in Rafah and reiterated his appeal for an immediate ceasefire to help protect civilians in Gaza and bring in aid, the royal palace said.

The king also said the only way to end the decades-old conflict was to find a "political horizon" for Palestinians that would lead to the creation of a Palestinian state, including east Jerusalem.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier this week the Israeli security cabinet would approve military plans for Rafah - including the evacuation of more than a million displaced Palestinian civilians who have been sheltering there, and whose fate worries world powers.

Almost 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, the Hamas-run Gazan health ministry claimed. Hamas's terror attack on Oct. 7 killed over 1,200 people in Israel.

Jordan air drops aid to Gaza

The Jordanian army also arranged on Monday the biggest airdrop operation so far to deliver aid to Gaza where the mostly displaced population of 2.3 million is facing crisis levels of hunger, an army statement said.

 Palestinians at the site where two Israeli hostages rescued overnight in an Israeli operation in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, Feb. 12, 2024 (credit: ABED RAHIM KHATIB/FLASH90)
Palestinians at the site where two Israeli hostages rescued overnight in an Israeli operation in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, Feb. 12, 2024 (credit: ABED RAHIM KHATIB/FLASH90)

The operation deployed four C-130 planes including one belonging to the French air force, army spokesperson Mustafa Hiyari said.

Aid was dropped to 11 sites along the Gaza coast from its northern edge to the south for civilians to collect, Hiyari told Reuters. Previous air drops that parachuted in medicines and humanitarian provisions were sent to hospitals the Jordanian army runs in Gaza.