U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken holds a joint press conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, during his visit to Cairo, Egypt, Thursday March 21, 2024.CAIRO — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken huddled Thursday with top Arab diplomats in Cairo to discuss post-conflict plans for Gaza as relations between the United States and Israel soured further over Israel’s war against Hamas, notably its intent to mount a major military operation against the southern city of Rafah.
In an earlier meeting with Blinken, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi stressed the need for an immediate cease-fire and warned against the “dangerous repercussions” of any Israeli offensive in Rafah, according to a statement issued by el-Sissi’s spokesperson. In Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the first stop on his sixth urgent Mideast mission since the war began, Blinken said Wednesday that the “gaps are narrowing” in indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas over another cease-fire and hostage release that the U.S., Egypt and Qatar have spent weeks trying to broker.
Netanyahu’s office said Thursday that the head of the Mossad spy agency will return to Qatar on Friday to meet with the head of the CIA and other key mediators as part of ongoing cease-fire talks. The office said Thursday that Qatar’s prime minister and Egypt’s intelligence chief would also join the talks.
Netanyahu, on a roughly 45-minute call with GOP senators on Wednesday, pledged to ignore warnings about a Rafah operation. He also took aim at Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s condemnation last week of the civilian death toll in Gaza and his call for new elections in Israel in a speech that Biden later said was “good.”
Netanyahu has also rejected the Biden administration’s repeated remonstrations that Israel’s long-term security cannot be assured without the creation of an independent Palestinian state.During the Israel-Hamas war, Jews will soon celebrate Purim — one of their most joyous holidays
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