El-Sisi, during a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken— who arrived in Egypt earlier on Tuesday following a visit to Israel to push forward talks aiming to end Israel’s 10-month Gaza war — asserted that the two state solution “is the fundamental guarantor of stability in the region.

In their meeting in the Egyptian coastal city of New Alamein, El-Sisi emphasized to Blinken the urgency of ending the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza, according to an Egyptian Presidential statement.

The Egyptian president called for reason and wisdom to prevail, advocating for prioritising peace and diplomacy.

He further warned of the grave risks of the conflict expanding regionally, with potentially unimaginable consequences, stressing that saving lives must be the primary concern for all parties involved.

El-Sisi and Blinken discussed the developments of the ongoing Egyptian-American-Qatari mediation efforts to reach the long-awaited ceasefire and detainee swap deal.

They also exchanged views on the outcomes of the recent talks in Doha and explored ways to make progress in the upcoming talks in Cairo.

For his part, Blinken briefed President El-Sisi on the results of his visit to Israel, reaffirming the US commitment to de-escalation efforts and reaching an agreement.

He also expressed great appreciation for Egypt's crucial role and its constructive efforts in reaching a ceasefire deal.

The meeting was attended by high-level officials, including the Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, Head of the Egyptian General Intelligence Service Abbas Kamel, and US Ambassador to Cairo Herro Mustafa Garg.

On Sunday, Blinken arrived in Israel and met Israeli officials as part of his ninth tour to the Middle East since the outbreak of the war. He underscored the necessity of concluding a deal for a ceasefire and the release of hostages and detainees.

The US top diplomat is set to depart Egypt later today heading to Qatar to meet Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani in the capital Doha, where ceasefire talks took place last week.

US Proposal

In Doha, the US, with the support of Qatar and Egypt, presented a proposal to Hamas and Israel on Friday to bridge the gaps and seal the ceasefire deal, aligning with the principles set out by US President Joe Biden on 31 May 2024 and UN Security Council Resolution 2735.

Following his meeting with Netanyahu, Blinken said that Israel has accepted the US proposal, calling on Hamas to do the same, and stressing that the ongoing rounds of negotiations could be the "last chance" to reach an agreement to end the war.

On the other hand, Hamas accused Netanyahu on Sunday of thwarting the efforts of the mediators and obstructing reaching a truce and captive exchange deal in Gaza.

They rejected the US proposal, stressing that this proposal responds to Netanyahu's conditions and includes terms that the Palestinian group would not accept.

The Islamic movement called for implementing the framework outlined Biden in May.

According to Axios, Netanyahu’s team, including Mossad director David Barnea, advised that the Israeli PM’s current stance on ceasefire talks made reaching an agreement impossible.

"Israeli officials say he [Netanyahu] has refused to give his own negotiators enough space to make a deal," Axios said on Monday.

Senior officials of Egypt, the US, and Qatar will meet again in Cairo before the end of this week in the second round of talks in a bid to conclude a deal under the terms presented to Israel and Hamas in Doha.

Egypt, along with the US and Qatar, has been mediating indirect talks between Israel and Hamas to reach a ceasefire deal in the 10-month-old Israeli war on Gaza.

Since 7 October, Israel has killed 40,139, injured 92,743 Palestinians, mostly children and women, damaged most of Gaza’s infrastructure, and displaced the majority of the population.