2024-02-06T12:14:48+00:00
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/ US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, on Tuesday, ways to make progress in reaching an agreement mediated by Egypt and Qatar to establish a truce in Gaza and release detainees held by Hamas.
Blinken left Riyadh on Tuesday morning, and his day is expected to be a marathon, as he visits Egypt and Qatar before heading to Israel to discuss negotiations for the release of detainees, plans related to Gaza for the post-war period, and the prospects for normalizing relations between Arab countries and Israel.
This is Blinken’s fifth tour of the region since October 2023, as the United States moves forward with its campaign to respond to Iran-aligned factions that have been carrying out attacks, and last month killed three American soldiers at a military site in Jordan.
Washington sees a potential truce to release the remaining hostages kidnapped by Hamas, a terrorist group, on October 7, and a halt to fighting in the Gaza Strip as key to progress on other challenges such as post-war governance in Gaza, the path to Palestinian statehood and an agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia to normalize relations.