Blinken in Egypt to seek ‘enduring end’to Gaza war
PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES: United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Egypt on Tuesday as part of his latest Middle East crisis tour, seeking a new ceasefire and “an enduring end” to the Israel-Hamas war.
Heavy strikes and fighting in Gaza killed at least 99 people overnight, mostly women and children, said the Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory that has been under almost four months of bombardment.
Fears grew for more than a million Palestinians crowded into the southern Gazan city of Rafah as the battlefront draws ever closer in Israel’s campaign to eradicate Hamas over its attacks on October 7.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned on Monday that the military “will reach places where we have not yet fought ... right up to the last Hamas bastion, which is Rafah,” on the Egyptian border.
On his fifth regional tour since the bloodiest-ever Gaza war broke out, Blinken was due to meet Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in the capital Cairo, a day after he held talks with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the kingdom’s capital Riyadh.
The US top envoy was later expected in Qatar and then Israel, hoping to shore up support for a truce deal that was hashed out in Paris in January but has not yet been signed off on by either Hamas or Israel.
Israeli troops, with air and naval support, have been engaged in heavy urban combat centered on Khan Younis, southern Gaza’s main city and the home city of Hamas’ Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar, much of which has been reduced to rubble.
Israel accuses Sinwar of masterminding the October 7 attacks, which resulted in the deaths of about 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to an Agence France-Presse (AFP) tally based on official figures.
The militants also seized about 250 hostages, Israel says 132 remain in Gaza, including 28 who are believed to have been killed.
Israel’s withering military campaign has killed at least 27,585 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, the Health Ministry there said.
‘No place is safe’
The army said on Tuesday that “over the past day, dozens of terrorists have been killed and approximately 80 individuals suspected of involvement in terrorist activity have been apprehended, including a number of terrorists that took part in the October 7 massacre.”
It added that army snipers had killed more than 15 militants, and a naval vessel had fired missiles at a “terrorist cell.”
An Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalist said overnight strikes rocked Khan Younis and two air strikes also shook Rafah.
“No place is safe, no place at all — where shall we go?” one Palestinian, Mohamad Kozaat, said after six members of his family, including his daughter, were wounded in an Israeli strike on Rafah.
The US has strongly backed its top regional ally Israel with munitions and diplomatic support, but also urged steps to reduce civilian casualties and to eventually move toward a two-state solution with the Palestinians.
The truce Blinken is hoping to seal proposes a six-week pause to fighting as Hamas frees hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel and more aid enters Gaza, a Hamas source said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has faced divisions within his Cabinet and public fury over the fate of the remaining hostages, said Israel “will not accept” demands Hamas has made for an exchange involving thousands of prisoners.
The premier’s right-wing Likud party quoted him as saying the terms “should be similar to the previous agreement” in late November, which saw a more limited ratio of Palestinian prisoners exchanged for captives.