Blinken arrives in Egypt on regional crisis tour pushing Gaza truce deal

In the midst of Israel’s war on Gaza, a top US diplomat sets out on yet another Middle East tour in an attempt to broker a cease-fire.

As the conflict in Gaza rages on, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Egypt as part of his fifth foreign visit since October of last year with the intention of clearing the path for an agreement between Israel and Hamas.

Blinken was scheduled to meet Egyptian mediators on Tuesday. These individuals, along with their Arab counterparts, have attempted to broker a settlement to terminate the bloody conflict that has claimed the lives of over 27,500 Palestinians, the majority of whom are women and children.

Due to nearly four months of Israeli shelling, the majority of the 2.3 million people living in the beleaguered enclave are displaced and face acute shortages of food, water, medication, and shelter. The majority of Gaza is now in ruins.

A deal that would end the conflict and allow the exchange of Israeli detainees held by Hamas and Palestinian inmates in Israeli jails has been negotiated by the US, Egypt, and Qatar. Reports state that Israel and Hamas are still at odds over accepting the terms.

According to US sources, Blinken intends to obtain an update on Hamas’s reaction to the planned agreement in Cairo and Doha. After that, on Wednesday, he will go to Israel to brief Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Blinken’s diplomatic whirlwind tour of the area, though, is reminiscent of one that was conducted only a month prior and had, if any, few concrete outcomes.

Additionally, Israel has announced that it intends to increase the scope of its ground assaults in Gaza.

Israel maintains that it will not back down from its military campaign, even in the face of accusations that it is falling short of its objective of overthrowing Hamas. The majority of the population has been forced to evacuate to the city that is located on the Egyptian border.

Humanitarian observers for the UN have issued a warning that two-thirds of Gaza’s land is currently under Israeli evacuation orders, which is pushing thousands more people daily toward the border areas.

Egypt has cautioned that the peace treaty between the two nations, which was signed more than 40 years ago, would be threatened by an Israeli deployment at the border. Egypt has stated that it is determined to prevent the possibility that terrified Palestinian civilians could be forced over the border by an extension of fighting into the Rafah area.

Along the itinerary are Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
One day after meeting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) in Riyadh, the US envoy has arrived in Cairo.

Saudi Arabia has stated that it is still open to normalizing relations with Israel, but only provided a solid plan for the establishment of a state for the Palestinian people exists.

The two talked about “regional coordination to achieve an enduring end to the Gaza crisis,” according to the Department of State.

Blinken and MBS also discussed the humanitarian situation in Gaza, the Houthi attacks on ships connected to Israel, and the US and UK warships that the Yemeni group associated with Iran claims are meant to end the war and provide more relief to the Palestinian people.

Senior Israeli officials are promoting plans to seize control of the Gaza Strip and establish illegal colonies there, while Netanyahu has stated that he still seeks “total victory” over Hamas and has discredited the idea of a two-state solution.

If Netanyahu makes a flimsy agreement with Hamas, his far-right friends have threatened to punish him politically.

Meanwhile, Israeli troops continue to carry out lethal and brutal incursions against Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank on a regular basis.

There have been talks about stopping the combat for a few weeks in order to negotiate an arrangement that would allow Israel and Hamas to exchange prisoners once more.

terrible circumstances for humanitarians
The UN claims that Israel has been severely impeding the delivery of aid to the besieged enclave, where the majority of the 2.3 million residents are facing starvation and are in desperate need of humanitarian relief.

Two-thirds of the Gaza Strip are now affected by Israel’s “evacuation orders,” which impact an area where 77 percent of the population resides, according to a report released on Tuesday by the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

In addition to the Israeli bombardment, the UN reports that the Palestinians in the enclave confront dire circumstances that include acute shortages of food, medicine, and water as well as a rapid spread of illnesses.

OCHA reported that the recently relocated people were only receiving 1.5–2 liters of water per day for washing, cooking, and drinking. It also noted a notable rise in the number of children from chronic diarrhea.

As the displaced people in the Gaza Strip prepare for an impending Israeli attack, Palestinians there have expressed hope that Blinken’s presence will bring some reprieve from the conflict.