Secretary of State Antony Blinken headed to Egypt on Thursday morning as part of his latest whirlwind trip to the Middle East as efforts increase to prevent the Israeli-Hamas conflict from spilling over into neighboring countries.
The State Department said Blinken expressed support for a Palestinian state and discussed efforts to protect and aid civilians in Gaza. During his visit, he will meet with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo.
On Wednesday, Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas told Blinken during a meeting in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, that no Palestinians should be displaced from Gaza or the West Bank.
Senior White House adviser Amos Hochstein is expected to visit Beirut on Thursday, a U.S. official said, as part of U.S. efforts to ease tension along the Israel-Lebanon border.
Pictures published on Thursday showed Blinken in close conversations on board his C-17 aircraft with his Deputy Chief of Staff Tom Sullivan and the Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, Barbara Leaf.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken preparing to board his C-17 aircraft bound for Cairo on Thursday morning
Blinken’s trip to Egypt is the next step in his whirlwind Middle East trip where he has met with leaders of Arab nations as well as the Palestinian Authority’s president
Blinken talks with Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, Barbara Leaf
In November, Leaf made international headlines when she suggested that the death toll in Gaza was higher than Israeli officials were reporting
Blinken with Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, Tom Sullivan, who has accompanied the secretary on his week-long trip
In November, Leaf made international headlines when she suggested that the death toll in Gaza was higher than Israeli officials were reporting.
‘We think they’re very high, frankly, and it could be that they’re even higher than are being cited… We’ll know only after the guns fall silent… it’s very possible that they’re even higher than is being reported,’ the former US ambassador to the United Arab Emirates said.
Blinken’s visit to Egypt comes as the Arab League, which is based in the country, issued a statement supporting South Africa’s International Court of Justice lawsuit against Israel.
‘[The Arab League] fully supports the lawsuit filed by South Africa against Israel before the International Court of Justice on charges of committing genocide crimes and violating the 1948 Convention on the Prevention of the Crime of Genocide,’ the statement read.
‘I thank South Africa and its government for taking this principled position that places morals and human values above any other consideration,’ Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit added.
Israel’s offensive has killed more than 23,200 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.
About two-thirds of the dead are women and children, health officials say. The death toll does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
Blinken previously described the case as ‘meritless.’
Blinken meets with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during which the secretary apparently expressed support for a Palestinian state
Blinken walks with Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa during his visit in Manama, Bahrain
Overnight, Israel continued to bombard Gaza as Blinken’s efforts to contain the war continue
This week, Blinken described South Africa’s genocide lawsuit against Israel as ‘meritless.’ Here, a mourner cries over the bodies of family members of the Nofal family, after they were killed during Israeli bombardment, on January 10
Overnight, Israel continued to bombard Gaza as Blinken’s efforts to contain the war continue.
Hours earlier, Blinken crossed Israeli checkpoints to reach the de facto Palestinian capital Ramallah, according to pool reporters who travelled with the U.S. top diplomat.
The visit came a day after talks on Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet over Israel’s war with Hamas, regional tensions and the future of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
US brokered talks on a Palestinian state in territory now occupied by Israel collapsed almost a decade ago. Right-wing leaders in Israel’s current ruling coalition oppose Palestinian statehood.
At his news conference, Blinken declined to characterize how Netanyahu and his cabinet responded to his appeal on a Palestinian state.
He said Israel would have to make ‘hard decisions, hard choices’ to take advantage of the opportunity offered by regional integration.
‘Extremist settler violence carried out with impunity, settlement expansion, demolitions, evictions, all make it harder, not easier for Israel to achieve lasting peace and security,’ he said, alluding to conflict in the West Bank.