Blinken in Egypt today for talks on Gaza

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken hopes to advance efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, as well as strengthen bilateral ties with Cairo when he arrives in Egypt today amid concerns over escalating Middle East tensions, Reuters reported.

The top U.S. diplomat's visit comes as the region remains on edge due to the danger of the war in Gaza spreading, especially after Lebanon's Hezbollah vowed to retaliate against Israel, accusing it of detonating pagers across Lebanon on Tuesday. The incident killed at least nine people and injured nearly 3,000. Israel has refused to comment on the explosions.

Speaking at a regular briefing, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said it was too early to say whether the incident in Lebanon would affect ceasefire negotiations in Gaza, but he said the U.S. believes diplomacy is the way to de-escalate tensions. On Blinken's meetings with Egyptian officials, "on the agenda is how we will get a proposal that we think would secure an agreement by both sides" on a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, Miller said.

U.S. officials have said for weeks that a new agreement proposal, including the release of hostages taken by Hamas on October 7, 2023, would be presented soon.

"There are some issues that we need to address with the government of Egypt because they relate to this ceasefire proposal that we are trying to achieve," Miller said.

Blinken will not visit Israel on this trip, the first time he has skipped Washington's closest regional ally since Palestinian Hamas launched the war in Gaza nearly a year ago.

Miller said this was because Washington aimed to discuss bilateral issues with Egypt on this trip, and the Gaza ceasefire proposal that the U.S. and mediators have been working on is not yet ready to be presented to Israel.

"So it would be premature to put forward such a proposal or to engage in any other diplomatic engagements," he added.

Egypt, along with Qatar, has been a vital mediator in U.S.-led diplomacy, relaying proposals and counter-proposals between Hamas and Israel. Washington has also relied on Cairo in its efforts to increase the flow of humanitarian aid to the 2.3 million residents of Gaza affected by the war.

Palestinian militants killed 1,200 and took about 250 hostages in an attack on Israel last year. Israel's retaliatory attack on Gaza has killed more than 41,000 people and largely flattened the enclave.