The US view is that a ceasefire now would “leave Hamas in place,” US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said at a news conference with the foreign ministers of Jordan and Egypt in Amman.

“It is important to affirm Israel’s right to defend itself,” the US Secretary of State said, adding that “it is also very important how Israel does this.”

Anthony Blinken began his remarks by saying that the leaders there today “share the same fundamental interest” and that their goal is to achieve peace.

“Throughout this conflict countries around the world have played an essential role in preventing its spread,” he said, adding that “all of us have a direct stake in this.”

The American official added that his country is “focused on freeing the hostages” and emphasized that “Israel must take every possible measure to prevent civilian casualties.”

“What we need to do more than anything else is to prevent demonizing each other. If we don’t do that, then we are doing the work of Hamas,” he said.

Blinken said humanitarian pauses can help protect civilians and “can be a critical mechanism.”

“The United States continues to believe that the only viable path is a two-state solution with Israelis and Palestinians having the legal right to remain in a state of their own,” the US Secretary of State said.

However, he added that there will be different views on how to achieve this, but “we cannot go back to the previous status quo”.