Blinken to meet Egypt’s Sisi on Gaza hostage deal

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday landed in Cairo for his meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi as the United States works to
advance a Gaza truce and hostage deal mediated by the Egyptians and Qataris.
The top U.S. diplomat departed Riyadh shortly after sunrise for what is set to be a marathon day visiting Egypt and Qatar before flying to Israel to discuss hostage negotiations, post-war Gaza plans and the prospect of Arab countries and Israel normalizing ties.
Blinken’s fifth trip to the region since October comes as the United States presses ahead with its retaliatory campaign against Iran-aligned militia which had attacked last month and killed U.S. troops in a military outpost in Jordan.