Blinken meets El Sisi in Cairo as US pushes for peace in Gaza Strip
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Egypt yesterday for the second leg of his fifth Middle East tour since the start of the Gaza war, as he pushes for a truce and “an enduring end” to the conflict.
Mr Blinken flew to Cairo from Riyadh after talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Upon his arrival in the Egyptian capital, he held talks with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, whose government has been working with the US and Qatar to mediate in the war.
Mr El Sisi’s meeting with Mr Blinken focused on efforts to mediate a halt to the fighting in Gaza and reach an agreement on a detainee and hostage swap between Israel and Hamas, the Egyptian leader’s office said.
They also discussed the importance of allowing sufficient aid to reach the enclave to alleviate the suffering of its population.
Mr El Sisi emphasised the “crucial” role played by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).
The US was one of several major donors to freeze funds to the UNRWA after Israel alleged that some of the agency’s employees had taken part in the Hamas attacks on October 7, when about 1,200 people were killed and 240 taken hostage.
Egypt was one of many countries that strongly condemned the decision to suspend funding to the UN agency.
Mr Blinken’s trip has taken on increased urgency as Israeli forces in Gaza push further south, towards the city of Rafah on the Egyptian border.
More than half of the enclave’s 2.3 million population are believed to have taken shelter in the area.
A fully fledged Israeli offensive there is of particular concern to Egypt, which has for months warned against forcing Palestinians to flee Gaza and take refuge across the border in the Sinai Peninsula.
Cairo believes forcing Gazans to cross the border would “liquidate” the Palestinian cause, breach Egypt’s national security and create another hurdle in future negotiations to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
The US and the EU have already voiced opposition to any action aimed to push Gazans into Egypt.
Displaced Palestinians are living in makeshift tents metres away from the border fence. Volunteers on the Egyptian side have been providing Gazans with water from hoses and power from mobile generators placed by the fence.
Egypt in 1979 became the first Arab state to sign a peace treaty with Israel.
Israel has vowed to eradicate Hamas and says the war will not end until that goal is realised and hostages held by the militant group are released.
The October 7 attacks drew a devastating response from Israel, whose air and ground campaign in Gaza has led to the deaths of more than 27,400 people, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry, as well as displacing most of the population and razing large areas of the territory.
Mr Blinken’s latest visit to the region comes as Washington attempts to push through proposals to halt the fighting in Gaza, which were drawn up by US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators in Paris last week. Israel and Hamas have yet to respond officially to the proposals, which include a truce of up to three months, an exchange of Palestinian detainees for Israeli hostages, and a significant increase in the amount of aid allowed to enter Gaza.
Hamas insists that any agreement must include a permanent ceasefire, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a timetable for reconstruction, as well as international guarantees that Israel will honour its commitments, sources have told The National. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said “a complete victory will deal a fatal blow” to Hamas and other Iran-backed militant groups in the region.
Mr Netanyahu, who has faced division within his cabinet and public fury over the fate of the estimated 132 hostages still held in Gaza, said Israel “will not accept” demands for an exchange put forward by Hamas.
His Likud party quoted him as saying that the terms of any deal “should be similar to the previous agreement”, when some hostages were exchanged for Palestinian detainees during a truce in November.
The pause, which was also mediated by the US, Qatar and Egypt, led to the release of more than 100 hostages from Gaza and hundreds of Palestinians from Israeli prisons.
Hamas wants Israel to release 5,000 Palestinians in exchange for the remaining hostages, as well as the remains of captives who have died since October 7.
During his tour of the Middle East, which will also include stops in Qatar, Israel and the occupied West Bank, Mr Blinken also aims to win backing for broad US plans for a postwar settlement in Gaza.
Washington’s plans cover a range of issues, from the reconstruction of the devastated enclave to the establishment of a Palestinian state – which Israeli officials have ruled out – and the establishment of diplomatic relations between Israel and Arab states.
During his talks with Mr Blinken yesterday, Mr El Sisi “emphasised … that serious steps towards a just and comprehensive settlement of the Palestinian issue must be taken to guarantee sustained stability in the region”, his office said.
El Sisi’s talks with Blinken focused on efforts to mediate a halt to the fighting and a detainee and hostage swap