Blinken Says Gaza Ceasefire Is Best Way To Ensure Stability
CAIRO: The United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday during his visit to Cairo that a ceasefire in the ongoing fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza would be the most efficient mechanism to prevent further escalation of the conflict across the Middle East.
Blinken’s visit, which was his tenth to the region since the war started after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, sought to restart the stalled negotiations that are being conducted with the intervention of Egypt, Qatar and the U.S.
He did not visit any point in Israel due to his major work on the quest for a peaceful solution to the conflict. Next to Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty during a joint press briefing, Blinken underscored the call to end the hostilities and conclude a COU.
Speaking to reporters, Blinken said, “We talked about the need to close this deal, which is effectively what we will do with the Qataris. ” He said, “We all know that a ceasefire is the best chance to tackle the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, to address risks to regional stability,
After the meeting with Blinken, the press office of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi also shared the details of the conversation.
The continuation of efforts and cooperation between Egypt, the United States and Qatar in order to promote the progress of the ceasefire between the warring parties, as well as the exchange of hostages and detainees. El-Sisi also urged for the intervention to address the issues associated with the delivery of aid to Gaza and also asked for a stoppage of Israeli aggression on the West Bank.
Since the war started, violence has been on the rise in the West Bank. The Israeli forces have had large-scale operations in the last few weeks.
Blinken’s arrival in Cairo was less than a day after the news broke out about the massive blasts of pagers belonging to Hezbollah individuals across Lebanon, causing the deaths of 12 people and over 2,750 people injured. Blinken dismissed any involvement or prior knowledge of the explosions that Hezbollah has blamed on Israel.
The United States itself was not aware of these incidents, and it had no role in such happenings. We are still collecting facts, Blinken told reporters in Cairo. He once again emphasised that effort should be made not to do something which escalates the situation in the region.
From the U.S. news site Axios, proofs show that at 6.00 p.m., Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant briefed his American counterpart Lloyd Austin on an impending operation in Lebanon. After just seven minutes, a series of explosions shook Lebanon.
In recent days, Israel released statements broadening its military goals to fight against Hezbollah in Lebanon in parallel to the current operation against Hamas in Gaza. This move is an increase in the dimension of the conflict because, after months of hostilities around the border between the two nations, Israel-Lebanon, this particular attack led to more complications.
Besides security issues, some of the topics Blinken discussed during his trip to Cairo were the enhancement of U.S.-Egyptian relations. After his trip to Egypt, the Secretary of State is to head to Paris to share with the French, the British and the Italian sides the new situation in the Middle East.
