Blinken travels to Egypt once again in search of a ceasefire agreement for Gaza
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Egypt on Tuesday to discuss the status of negotiations between Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, his office said on Monday.
The US foreign minister will be in Egypt from Tuesday to Thursday, where he will take part in the US-Egypt Strategic Dialogue with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty.
In addition, Blinken “will meet with Egyptian officials to discuss ongoing efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza that ensures the release of all hostages, alleviates the suffering of the Palestinian people, and advances regional security,” said State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.
Egypt and Qatar are the main mediators between Israel and Hamas, who are negotiating the hostage release and multi-phase ceasefire proposal announced last May by US President Joe Biden.
The Palestinian Islamist group insists that a truce agreement must include a definitive Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, especially the Philadelphia corridor, which runs along the border between the Strip and Egypt and where the Rafah border crossing is located.
For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists on keeping Israeli troops in the Philadelphia corridor, something he considers essential for the security of his country. The border between Gaza and Egypt and the Rafah tunnels have been the point through which weapons and material for the construction of Hamas’ tunnel network have passed, and Israel wants to control that passage at all costs.
That corridor has been occupied by Israeli troops since May, when they invaded the town of Rafah and took control of the Gaza side of the border crossing with Egypt, a country that also categorically rejects the Israeli presence on the dividing line. (EFE)
#IsraelGaza #war #live #dead #injured #Hezbollah #bomb #blast #Lebanon