After Israel trip, Blinken meets Egypt’s Sissi as he looks to shore up ceasefire deal

Hamas calls latest ceasefire proposal ‘a coup against’ previously agreed upon framework, accuses Washington of ‘acquiescing’ to Netanyahu

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, meets with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi in El-Alamein, Egypt, on Tuesday, August 20, 2024. (Kevin Mohatt/Pool Photo via AP)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, meets with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi in El-Alamein, Egypt, on Tuesday, August 20, 2024. (Kevin Mohatt/Pool Photo via AP)

Top US diplomat Antony Blinken was in Egypt on Tuesday for talks on a Gaza ceasefire after saying Israel had accepted a US “bridging proposal” for a deal and urging Hamas to do the same.

Blinken, on his ninth visit to the Middle East since the Palestinian terror group’s October 7 attack triggered the war with Israel, flew from Israel to El Alamein, the Mediterranean city famous for a World War II battle, and held talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi at his summer palace.

According to a statement from the US State Department, Blinken thanked Sissi “for Egypt’s partnership as a mediator on the ceasefire talks to secure the release of hostages and allow a surge of humanitarian assistance to Gaza. The Secretary also stressed the importance of continuing to work together to prevent regional escalation in this critical time.”

In a statement released after the meeting, Egypt called for a Gaza ceasefire and warned of a regional war.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, meets with Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty in El-Alamein, Egypt, on Tuesday, August 20, 2024. (Kevin Mohatt/Pool Photo via AP)

“The time has come to end the ongoing war, and to resort to wisdom, and to uphold the language of peace and diplomacy,” the Egyptian president said in the statement, adding all parties must be wary of the “danger of the conflict expanding regionally.”

Hamas on Tuesday also condemned claims by US President Joe Biden that it was backing away from a Gaza truce deal, calling his remarks a “green light” for Israel to continue the war.

The “misleading claims… do not reflect the true position of the movement, which is keen to reach a ceasefire” agreement, the Palestinian militant group said in a statement.

It called Biden’s remarks — which were made on Tuesday as the US president prepared to leave Chicago following his keynote address to the Democratic National Convention — an “American green light for the Zionist extremist government to commit more crimes against defenseless civilians.”

In Al Alamein, Blinken also met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, where they “agreed to hold a strategic dialogue to further strengthen the bilateral partnership and increase people-to-people ties in areas such as culture, healthcare, and education,” according to the US statement.

Afterward, Blinken is to head to a meeting with Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, in Doha, the scene of ceasefire talks last week.

Both Egypt and Qatar are working alongside the United States to broker a truce in the 10-month Gaza conflict. Washington put forward the latest proposal last week after the talks in Doha.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (left) meets in Tel Aviv on August 19, 2024 with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (center) and IDF chief Herzi Halevi. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)

Blinken said Monday in Israel that he had “a very constructive meeting” with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who “confirmed to me that Israel accepts the bridging proposal.”

“The next important step is for Hamas to say yes,” repeated Blinken, “and then, in the coming days, for all of the expert negotiators to work on clear understandings on implementing the agreement.”

On Monday, the US secretary of state had said: “This is a decisive moment — probably the best, maybe the last, opportunity to get the hostages home, to get a ceasefire and to put everyone on a better path to enduring peace and security.”

Responding late Monday night, however, Hamas official Osama Hamdan told Reuters that Blinken’s comments regarding Netanyahu’s acceptance of an updated US proposal “raises many ambiguities” because it’s “not what was presented to us, nor what we agreed on.”

One of the major gaps the US, Egypt and Qatar are trying to address concerns the deployment of IDF troops along the Philadelphi corridor on the Egypt-Gaza border in the event of a deal. Netanyahu has insisted on maintaining an IDF presence there — a demand Hamas rejects.

The October 7 Hamas-led assault saw thousands burst through Israel’s defenses and rampage across the south, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 people hostage. Over 100 of these hostages were released in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel during a weeklong cease-fire last year.

Lazar Berman and AP contributed to this report.

Most Popular
read more: