US Secretary of State Antony Blinken Meets with Egyptian President in Cairo to Broker Gaza Ceasefire
In a bid to broker a Gaza ceasefire and hostage-release deal between Israel and Hamas, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and top diplomats in Cairo on Tuesday. This is Blinken’s ninth trip to the region since the start of the conflict, which has raised fears of a deeper regional war.
The discussions come as a result of the latest effort to narrow differences between Israel and Hamas. After meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Blinken said Israel has accepted a US “bridging proposal” aimed at bridging the gap between the two sides. He urged Hamas to do the same, as a basis for further talks.
However, Hamas has not explicitly rejected the proposal, but stated that it overturns what was previously agreed upon. Despite this, experts believe a ceasefire in Gaza is more likely now due to pressure imposed on various parties, including the threat of Iran and its allies attacking Israel.
Nomi Bar-Yaacov, an associate fellow at the prestigious British think tank Chatham House, said US President Joe Biden is also under pressure to make the latest round of negotiations work. She believes Washington has “lost patience with its ally’s behavior” and is willing to expose Netanyahu if he does not agree to the proposal.
Bar-Yaacov also highlighted the growing threat of an attack from Iran or its proxies, stating that “the clock is ticking” and that a coordinated attack or horrific attack against Israel is possible. She emphasized that a ceasefire deal in Gaza is crucial to prevent such an attack, and that leverage must be exercised on both Israel and Hamas to achieve this goal.
After Egypt, Blinken will travel to Qatar for further negotiations, following meetings in Israel on Monday. The fate of the Gaza ceasefire and hostage-release deal hangs in the balance, as the international community watches to see if the parties can come to a mutually acceptable agreement.
