WASHINGTON DC: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Egypt on Tuesday amid efforts to engage key regional partners in the Middle East to present a revised proposal for a Gaza cease-fire.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters on Monday, “We continue to engage with our partners in the region, most specifically with Egypt and Qatar, about what that proposal will contain, and making sure or trying to see that it’s a proposal that can get the parties to an ultimate agreement.”
The U.S. has not provided a timetable for the revised proposal, though officials have indicated that it will be presented soon.
The proposal seeks to resolve key issues behind the monthslong impasse in talks mediated by the U.S., Qatar and Egypt, aiming to secure a truce between Israel and Hamas and the release of remaining hostages taken by the Hamas militants at the start of the war on October 7, 2023.
In Cairo, Blinken will co-chair the opening session of the U.S.-Egypt Strategic Dialogue with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty.
Blinken will also meet with Egyptian leaders to discuss efforts to secure a cease-fire in Gaza, ensure the release of all hostages, alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people and promote broader regional security, according to Miller.
However, Blinken’s 10th trip to the Middle East since the war began does not include a stop in Israel for talks with its leaders.
Earlier on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Yair Lapid, Israel’s opposition leader and former prime minister.
After the meeting at the State Department, Lapid told reporters that Israel needs a hostage deal and an end to the war in Gaza, emphasizing that no political process or turbulence should affect the deal. Lapid urged the U.S. not to let Hamas “skirt a hostage deal.”
“Israel as a nation will not heal unless we will bring [the remaining hostages] back home. This is essential to our existence,” Lapid said.
(VOA)
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