Egyptian president meets Blinken, warns of regional expansion of Gaza war
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warned Tuesday of the risk of the Gaza war expanding regionally in a way “difficult to imagine,” during a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in El-Alamein in northern Egypt. The two sides reviewed, during the meeting, efforts by Egypt, Qatar, and the US to mediate a cease-fire in Gaza and the exchange of prisoners, the Egyptian presidency noted in a statement.
The sources added that the two also reviewed the results of last week’s round of Gaza cease-fire talks in Qatar and steps of progress for a round of negotiations in Cairo that is expected to take place this week.
The US State Secretary presented the Egyptian leader with a review of his visit to Israel, and emphasized that the US side is committed to working to reach a ceasefire agreement, the statement said. The U.S. secretary of state is also expected to hold separate meetings with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and intelligence chief Abbas Kamel during his visit to Cairo.
He heads later in the day to Qatar for Gaza cease-fire talks with top Qatari officials.Blinken has been in Israel since Sunday on his ninth visit to the region to push forward efforts toward reaching a Gaza cease-fire and a deal on prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas. Cease-fire talks for Gaza in Qatar ended on Friday with a “proposal that narrows the gaps” between Israel and Hamas, consistent with the principles set out by Biden on May 31.
According to Biden, the Jewish state had reached a preliminary three-staged agreement in May that would provide for the cessation of hostilities in Gaza and the release of hostages that were said to have been spirited into the coastal strip. The plan was for a time-bound cease-fire, exchange of hostage prisoners, and the reconstruction of Gaza.
However, on Sunday, Hamas claimed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had set new conditions for the Gaza cease-fire and the hostage-swap proposal that was proposed during the Doha dialogue.
“The new proposal meets Netanyahu’s conditions and is compatible with them, especially about his rejection of a permanent cease-fire, full withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and his insistence on keeping the occupation of the Netzarim Junction, which splits the northern and southern Gaza Strip, the Rafah crossing, and the Philadelphi Corridor in the south,” Hamas said in a statement. It further stated, “He also placed new conditions on the hostages swap file and withdrew from the rest of the terms, which changes the conclusion of the deal.”
Over the past months, the US, Qatar, and Egypt have sought to persuade Israel and Hamas to enter into a deal permitting a prisoner exchange and to cease hostilities, allowing humanitarian aid to besiege Gaza. But mediation efforts have bogged down, with Netanyahu refusing to meet Hamas demands for ending the war.
Israel has carried on with its violent attack on the Gaza Strip since the October 7, 2023 return attack by Hamas, in total disregard for the resolution by the UN Security Council, to cease hostilities immediately.
Over 40,170 Palestinians have died in the conflict, with most casualties being women and children, and over 92,740 injured, according to local health authorities. The blockade of Gaza has resulted in acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, with much of the region lying in ruins.
Israel stands accused of genocide in the International Court of Justice, which ordered a halt to military operations in the southern city of Rafah, where more than one million Palestinians had taken refuge before the area was invaded on May 6.
