Blinken says Gaza truce best way to ensure regional stability, denies US involvement in Lebanon pager blasts

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is in Cairo for Gaza ceasefire talks, on  Wednesday said that a truce in the Israel-Hamas conflict would be the best way to stop violence from spreading in West Asia.

Blinken’s 10th trip to the region since the start of the war that was sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel is aimed to salvage stalled negotiations mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the United States to end the conflict.

“We discussed the importance of getting this deal across the finish line, something we’ll continue to pursue with our Qatari counterparts,” Blinken said during a joint press conference alongside Egyptian Foreign Minister Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty.

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“We all know that a ceasefire is the best chance to tackle the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, to address risks to regional stability,” Blinken further said.

Sisi’s office issued a statement after the meeting in which it stated that the pair discussed “ways to intensify joint efforts between Egypt, the US and Qatar to make progress on ceasefire negotiations and the exchange of hostages and detainees”.

Sisi also called for “decisive intervention to remove obstacles to the entry of huge amounts of aid” to Gaza and “ending Israeli violations in the West Bank”, the statement further mentioned.

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Blinken back in Egypt to push Gaza ceasefire, his 10th West Asia visit since war began

Blinken landed in Cairo hours after hundreds of pagers used by Hezbollah members exploded almost simultaneously across Lebanon on Tuesday (September 17), killing 12 people and wounding over 2,750 others.

Blinken denies reports US prior knowledge in Lebanon blasts

In Cairo, on Wednesday, Blinken denied reports that the US had any prior knowledge or involvement in the attack which Hezbollah has blamed on Israel, the key US ally.  

“With regard to Lebanon, the United States did not know about, nor was it involved in these incidents, and we’re still gathering information and gathering the facts,” Blinken said in Cairo.

“Broadly speaking, we’ve been very clear and we remain very clear about the importance of all parties avoiding any steps that could further escalate the conflict,” he added.

Israel has yet to comment on the blasts.

According to US news site Axios, minutes before the attack, Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant called his US counterpart Lloyd Austin and informed him of an imminent operation in Lebanon, without giving any details.

With inputs from AFP.