Jordan's King Abdullah II will be in Washington, DC on Monday as the guest of President Joe Biden.
The two leaders are expected to discuss the ongoing effort to free the remaining Israeli hostages being held by Hamas, as well as the growing concerns of a possible ground offensive by the Israeli military in Rafah that many analysts feel would be a catastrophic calamity.
It was the first meeting between Jordan and the United States since three American soldiers were killed. Jordan has been considered a non-NATO major ally of the United States since 1996.
The meeting also comes as the Biden administration works to hammer out another ceasefire between Hamas and Israel for humanitarian aid and supplies to be allowed into the region, and to get the hostages out.
On Sunday, a senior US administrative official said a deal was close at hand after weeks of diplomacy via phone calls and shuttle diplomacy.
An essential framework is in place for a deal that could release the remaining hostages in exchange for a halt in fighting.
What's Next?
Speaking under the condition of anonymity, the official acknowledged that there are still bridges to be crossed between the opposing sides but declined to specify exactly what those are, but stated that the pressure being placed on Hamas by fighting in Khan Younis has brought Hamas closer to accepting an agreement-the topic which took up the majority of President Joe Biden's phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday.
The official further stated that Biden and Netanyahu had a substantial back-and-forth conversation regarding the expansion of military operations in Rafah, to which Biden responded by reiterating U.S. opposition to such maneuvers under the current conditions on the ground which see 1.3 million Palestinians sheltering in the city after being told to leave elsewhere in Gaza.
Associated Press reports that it was the most forceful language to date used by the president regarding the possible operation. In the past week, Biden has described the current Israeli military response in Rafah as "over the top" and wanted "urgent and specific" steps to strengthen humanitarian aid.
Media in Israel reported the meeting lasted 45 minutes. According to the anonymous sources quoted by AP, Israel has made it clear they would not contemplate an operation in Rafah without considering the large civilian population.
The United States, however, expressed uncertainty about the existence of a viable, implementable plan to relocate civilians out of Rafah to allow ground operations to take place.
