Saudi Crown Prince Makes Blinken Wait Overnight for Audience Amid Gaza Crisis

Antony Blinken made a whirlwind tour of Middle Eastern capitals this week in support of Israel's latest military campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip — and to head off opposition from Arab states.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was made to wait all night for an audience with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.

Blinken flew to the Saudi capital Riyadh at the weekend as he toured Middle Eastern capitals to discuss the sharp escalation of the Palestine-Israel conflict.

Israel is conducting round-the-clock bombing raids on the besieged Palestinian enclave of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.5 million people, in preparation for a ground invasion which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed will destroy the ruling Hamas movement.

That comes in response to an offensive launched on October 7 by militants loyal to Hamas and other groups which took the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and intelligence services by surprise.

The Palestinian WAFA news agency said on Monday that the death toll in Gaza had reached 2,808, including 936 women and 853 children — two-thirds of the total.

The IDF updated the number of its casualties to 291 soldiers, with 199 more taken prisoner in Gaza. some 1,100 Israeli civilians have also been killed in guerrilla attacks and shelling of settlements.

American media reported that the US Secretary of State assumed his meeting with the heir to the throne, who also serves as prime minister to his father King Salman, would be on Saturday evening. But he was forced to wait until the morning before we was admitted.

Asked by reporters how it went as he returned to his hotel, Blinken replied only that it was "very productive."

A brief State Department statement said Blinken "highlighted the United States’ unwavering focus on halting terrorist attacks by Hamas, securing the release of all hostages, and preventing the conflict from spreading."

The Saudi Press Agency reported that Mohammed bin Salman told Blinken that "the kingdom seeks to intensify communication and work to calm the situation and stop the escalation in Gaza."

The crown prince also stressed the urgent need to stop the Israeli bombing campaign that has "that claimed the lives of innocent people."

He said Israel must lift its "siege of Gaza" and "bring justice, stability and peace and ensure that the Palestinian people attain their legitimate rights," and condemned "the targeting of civilians, the destruction of infrastructure and of vital services that affect everyday life."

Blinken made a second visit to the Israeli capital Tel Aviv on Monday before he was scheduled to fly back to Washington.

Previous stops included Egypt, Israel and Gaza's southern neighbour, and Jordan which administers the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, Islam's third-holiest site after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.

Hundreds of Israeli settlers stormed al-Aqsa just days before the Hamas incursion. Hard-line Zionists claim the mosque sits on the site of the ancient Jerusalem temple destroyed in the time of the Roman empire — which they wish to rebuild.

Saudi Arabia, once one of the strongest US allies in the Middle East, has recently re-oriented itself towards China and Russia, successfully applying to join the expanding BRICS group of emerging economies.