US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in the Egyptian capital of Cairo on Thursday for an important meeting. The Egyptian foreign ministry spotlighted the “expanded bilateral consultations” that took place between Blnken and his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry. The Egyptians praised the “Extensive consultation and exchanging views on means to boost bilateral strategic partnership, & coordination on regional issues, notably the crisis in Gaza.”
The talks took place in Cairo ahead of larger talks with Arab foreign ministers from Egypt, Qatar, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the secretary-general of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). This is an important meeting and key countries in the region are taking part.
Saudi Arabia and Qatar do not have full relations with Israel. Qatar has hosted Israeli delegations amid the hostage talks. Saudi Arabia has been discussing normalization, but the Hamas attack appears to have been a setback in the drive for normalization and regional integration.
Egypt has played a key role in the aftermath of the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7. However, Egypt’s initiatives, from helping humanitarian aid flow to Gaza, to enabling hospital ships to arrive off the coast, has not always been recognized.
Furthermore, Qatar has often sought to dominate hostage talks and other initiatives. Doha hosts Hamas leaders and while Doha positions itself as being able to talk to both sides, it is unclear if its role has actually slowed down hostage talks and put up hurdles. Egypt, by contrast, has a historic role in Gaza and has many reasons to take a positive role in this conflict.
Unclear what comes next in Gaza
The meetings in Egypt may succeed at breaking an impasse in hostage talks and other talks about a ceasefire. The talks may also focus on Rafah and concerns that Egypt has with an Israeli operation in the southern Gaza city.
Much remains unclear in terms of what may come next in Gaza. Israel has vastly reduced the intensity of the war there and the few units that continue to fight in Gaza are engaged in precision raids. The Shifa hospital raid this week, for example, netted 300 suspected terrorists, while in another raid in Khan Younis, the IDF Commando Brigade “executed targeted raids on approximately 100 structures in the Hamad area of Khan Yunis, locating several weapons and eliminating dozens of terrorists,” the IDF said.