U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Cairo on Tuesday for talks with Egyptian leaders, with U.S. officials offering a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war in exchange for the release of hostages mainly held by the militants. He announced that he would focus on negotiating duties. .
Blinken’s visit also comes amid growing concerns in Egypt about Israel’s stated intention to extend the fighting in Gaza to areas along the Egyptian border that are crowded with displaced Palestinians.
Israel’s defense minister said the Israeli attack would eventually reach the town of Rafah on the Egyptian border. In Rafah, more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have fled and are living in increasingly dire conditions.
The United Nations humanitarian watchdog said Tuesday that Israeli evacuation orders now cover two-thirds of the Gaza Strip, with thousands more people being forced into the border area every day.
Egypt has warned that Israeli deployments along the border threaten the peace treaty the two countries signed more than 40 years ago.
Egypt fears that if the fighting spreads into the Rafah area, terrified Palestinian civilians could be pushed across the border, and Egypt has signaled its determination to prevent this scenario.
Blinken, who was meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi on Tuesday, reiterated that Palestinians should not be forced out of Gaza.
During his visit, Mr. Blinken is seeking progress on a cease-fire agreement, possible normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, and preventing an escalation of regional fighting.
Mr. Blinken faces major challenges on all three fronts. Hamas and Israel are openly at odds over key elements of a potential ceasefire.
Israel has rejected U.S. demands for a path to a Palestinian state, and Iran’s militant allies in the region have shown little sign of deterring a U.S. attack.
Egypt, along with Qatar, which Mr. Blinken will attend later on Tuesday, is trying to broker an agreement between Israel and Hamas that would release more hostages in exchange for a halt to Israeli military operations for several weeks.
The outlines of such a deal were drawn up and presented to Hamas late last month by intelligence chiefs from the United States, Egypt, Qatar and Israel, but Hamas has yet to respond formally.
U.S. officials said Mr. Blinken wanted to be updated on Hamas’s response to the proposals in both Cairo and Doha. Blinken will then travel to Israel and on Wednesday brief Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his military cabinet on what he heard from Arab leaders.
As with his previous four trips to the Middle East since the start of the Gaza conflict, Mr. Blinken’s other main objective was to prevent the conflict from escalating, including increasing attacks by Iranian-backed militias in the region. The rigors of the U.S. military make that mission exponentially more difficult. Reactions in Iraq, Syria, Yemen and the Red Sea have intensified since last week.
Blinken met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman shortly after arriving in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Monday night.
Saudi officials said the kingdom remains interested in normalizing relations with Israel in a potentially historic deal, but only if there is a credible plan to establish a Palestinian state. .
The State Department said in a statement that Blinken “stressed the importance of addressing humanitarian needs in Gaza and preventing further escalation of the conflict” and discussed with the crown prince “the importance of building a more integrated and prosperous region.” said.
But with war still raging in Gaza, such a major deal seems a long way off.
According to the Ministry of Health in Hamas-controlled territory, the death toll of Palestinians in the nearly four-month war has reached 27,478. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its tally, but says most of the dead were women and children.
The war destroyed vast areas of this small enclave, driving a quarter of the population to starvation.
The United Nations humanitarian monitors announced on Tuesday that Israel’s evacuation order in the Gaza Strip now covers two-thirds of the territory, or 246 square miles and 95 square miles.
Before the October 7 cross-border attack by Hamas that sparked the war, the affected area was home to 1.78 million Palestinians, or 77% of Gaza’s population.
Newly displaced people have only about 1.5 to 2 liters (50 to 67 ounces) of water per day for drinking, cooking and washing, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a daily report. said. A significant increase in chronic diarrhea in children has also been reported.
Parents of infants and toddlers face particular challenges due to the high cost or scarcity of diapers, formula, and milk.
Zainab al-Zein, who has taken refuge in the central city of Deir al-Balah, has had to introduce her two-and-a-half-month-old daughter to solid foods such as biscuits and rice flour much earlier than the usual six-month-old age. said. She had no access to milk or formula.
“Of course, this is known as an unhealthy diet and we know that it causes her intestinal upset, bloating and colic,” Alzein said. “As you can see, she cries like this for 24 hours.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until Israel crushes Hamas’s military and governance capabilities and wins the return of more than 100 hostages still held by the militants.
Hamas and other militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted about 250 others in the attack.
During a week-long ceasefire in November, more than 100 prisoners, mostly women and children, were released in exchange for the release of 240 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
Prime Minister Netanyahu, who met with the military on Monday, said Israel had destroyed 18 of Hamas’ 24 battalions, but offered no evidence. “We are on the path to absolute victory. We want to tell you that we are committed to it and will never give up.”
