US Secretary of State Blinken arrives in Egypt for Gaza cease-fire talks

By Ibrahim al-Khazen

CAIRO (AA) - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Egypt on Monday for talks aimed at brokering a cease-fire deal in the Gaza Strip.

The visit is the first stop in a regional tour that will also take Blinken to Jordan and Qatar.

The top US diplomat will meet with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi during his visit, the state-affiliated Al-Qahera News channel reported.

The visit comes on the heels of a three-stage cease-fire proposal backed by US President Joe Biden to end the conflict in Gaza.

The proposal includes halting Israeli attacks, releasing captives held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, and the reconstruction of the flattened territory.

On Friday, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Blinken will discuss with regional partners the necessity of reaching a cease-fire agreement that ensures the release of all detainees and prevents further conflict.

Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas mediated by the US, Qatar, and Egypt have so far failed to agree on a permanent cease-fire.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 37,120 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and over 84,700 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Eight months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul