US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Egypt on Tuesday to discuss a Gaza ceasefire and the release of hostages with Egyptian officials, the State Department announced.
The discussions will focus on efforts to broker a deal between Israel and Hamas, mediated by Qatar and Egypt, to halt the ongoing conflict and secure the release of hostages.
The two major obstacles in the negotiations are Israel’s insistence on keeping forces in the Philadelphi corridor to maintain a buffer between Gaza and Egypt, and the specifics of a potential hostage exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
The State Department emphasised that Blinken’s visit will aim to secure a deal that “releases all hostages, alleviates Palestinian suffering, and establishes broader regional security.”
The latest conflict began on October 7 when Hamas launched an attack on Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages.
Israel’s subsequent military response in Gaza has killed over 41,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, and displaced nearly all of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, sparking a humanitarian crisis and genocide accusations, which Israel denies.
