Jordan queen raps West's 'glaring double standard' on Gaza

Jordan's Queen Rania accused Western leaders of a "glaring double standard" for not condemning Israel's killing of Palestinian civilians in its ongoing bombardment of Gaza, in an interview aired today.

"The people all around the Middle East, including in Jordan, we are just shocked and disappointed by the world's reaction to this catastrophe that is unfolding. In the last couple of weeks, we have seen a glaring double standard in the world," she told CNN's Christiane Amanpour.

"When October 7 happened, the world immediately and unequivocally stood by Israel and its right to defend itself and condemned the attack," she said of the day when Hamas militants began a rampage that killed more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped more than 220 others, Israeli officials say.

"But what we're seeing in the last couple of weeks, we're seeing silence in the world."

Israel has responded with relentless air strikes on the tiny Palestinian enclave which Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry says has killed 6,546 people, mostly civilians and many of them children.

It has also imposed a total siege on Gaza's 2.4 million residents who are facing a "catastrophic" humanitarian crisis, the UN says.

"Are we being told that it is wrong to kill a family, an entire family, at gunpoint, but it's OK to shell them to death?" she asked.

Many Western governments have repeatedly and publically voiced their support for Israel while urging it to respect international law as it presses its bombardment and readies a ground offensive it says is aimed at destroying Hamas and retrieving the hostages.

Meanwhile, thousands have protested across the Arab world, including in the Jordanian capital Amman, expressing support for the people of Gaza.

UN chief Antonio Guterres on Tuesday spoke of "epic suffering" in Gaza and said there had been "clear violations of international law" there, a statement that drew a fierce response from Israel's top diplomat.

Israel and its allies have so far rebuffed calls for a blanket ceasefire, which the White House says would only benefit Hamas.

The United States last week vetoed a draft UN Security Council resolution calling for a "humanitarian pause" in the raging Israel-Hamas conflict, saying the text did not recognise Israel's right to defend itself.

Last week, Jordan was one of several nations, including Russia, that requested a meeting of the UN General Assembly due to the Security Council deadlock.