President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, on Tuesday. Blinken is currently on a tour of the region to discuss the Gaza war.
The United States is making progress in reaching a mediated agreement involving Egypt and Qatar to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli detainees held by resistance factions in the sector.
Blinken departed from Riyadh this morning, and his day is expected to be a marathon, as he will visit Egypt and Qatar before heading to Israel to discuss hostage release negotiations and post-war Gaza plans. He will also explore the prospects of normalizing relations between Arab countries and Israel.
This marks Blinken’s fifth tour of the region since last October, as the United States continues its campaign to respond to factions allied with Iran, which have carried out attacks, including the killing of American forces at a military site in Jordan in January.
Washington sees the potential ceasefire for releasing the remaining detainees held by resistance factions in Gaza as a key to progress in other challenges, such as governing Gaza post-war, the path to establishing a Palestinian state, and reaching an agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia to normalize relations.
