Israel-Gaza war: US’ Blinken to return to Israel, extend Middle East diplomacy tour

“There’s determination in every country I went to make sure that this doesn’t spread,” Blinken told reporters as he prepared to leave Cairo on Sunday.

“No one should do anything that could add fuel to the fire in any other place … It’s clear from my conversations with all of these other countries, that they strongly share that view and they’re using their own relationships to try to make sure that this doesn’t happen.”

Washington has grown increasingly worried about the fighting spreading across the region and has warned Iran to stay out of it. Blinken has sought the cooperation of Arab allies, as well as China, a country with influence on Tehran, to contain the conflict.

But late on Saturday, Iran warned of “far-reaching consequences” if Israel’s bombardment was not stopped.

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Before his trip to Cairo, Blinken held talks in Riyadh with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, one of the most powerful leaders of the region, a meeting the top US diplomat described as “very productive”.

In the meeting, the Saudi crown prince stressed the need to find ways to stop the conflict, and respect international law, including by lifting the Israeli blockade on Gaza, Saudi state news agency SPA reported.

The crown prince emphasised the need to find “a peace path to ensure that the Palestinian people obtain their legitimate rights and achieve just and lasting peace,” SPA reported.

A US official said the meeting lasted for just under an hour and took place at the crown prince’s private farm residence.

“The Secretary highlighted the United States’ unwavering focus on halting terrorist attacks by Hamas, securing the release of all hostages, and preventing the conflict from spreading,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.

“The two affirmed their shared commitment to protecting civilians and to advancing stability across the Middle East and beyond,” Miller added.

Blinken on Saturday met Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan in Riyadh. Before their meeting, Blinken said protecting civilians on both sides of the conflict was vital.

“And we’re working together to do exactly that, in particular working on establishing safe areas in Gaza, working on establishing corridors so that humanitarian assistance can reach people who need it.”

Since the violence broke out, Saudi Arabia has put on hold US-brokered talks on normalising ties with Israel.

Prince Mohammed is a deeply controversial figure in the United States, where intelligence linked him to the 2018 killing and dismemberment of Jamal Khashoggi, a US-based Saudi journalist.

Riyadh denies this, blaming rogue operatives.

Blinken flew from Saudi Arabia to Cairo next, where he said he had “a very good conversation” with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, whose administration has repeatedly brokered truces between Hamas and Israel.

Egypt was the first Arab country to make peace with Israel, in 1979, and has since been one of the top recipients of US help.

US President Joe Biden once vowed to make the kingdom a pariah but visited last year, drawing protests at home when he shared a friendly fist-bump with Prince Mohammed.

Washington’s relationship with Cairo has also been put in question recently.

Days before the Hamas attack, Ben Cardin, the new chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, vowed to block some US$235 million in military aid to Egypt over human rights concerns.

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Cairo has sought to work with Washington since the violence broke out, but is reportedly refusing to allow only foreigners, including US citizens, to get out of Gaza via the Rafah border crossing.

Egypt controls the entry and exit point. Other crossings are controlled by Israel.

As he departed Cairo, Blinken said he was confident “Rafah will be open” and that the US, the UN, Egypt, Israel and others were working on a “mechanism by which to get the assistance and to get it to people who need it”.

In his meeting with Blinken on Sunday, Sisi said: “Israel’s response has gone beyond the right to self defence and amounts to collective punishment,” as the United Nations warned of worsening humanitarian conditions in Gaza.

There was no word on the US’s calls on Egypt to take in refugees, which Sisi has rejected, citing fears that mass displacement would mean the “eradication of the Palestinian cause” and insisting Gazans “remain on their land”.

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Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas warned Blinken on Friday that the displacement of Gazans would amount to a “second Nakba” – when more than 760,000 Palestinians were expelled from their lands in the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.

Cairo has continued to push for diplomatic efforts, including by hosting a regional and international summit on “the future of the Palestinian cause”, though it has not specified a date.

While Egypt openly rejects any proposal to settle Gazans in Sinai – previously occupied by Israel and the site of a multi-year fight against Islamist insurgents – analysts have pointed to Egypt’s dire economic situation as a potential bargaining chip.

Egypt’s currency has lost half its value in a year, under a crippling foreign debt bill and an economic crisis that analysts warn is only set to worsen.

Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse