Washington:

 U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Egypt on Tuesday to discuss a Gaza ceasefire and release of hostages with Egyptian officials, the State Department said.

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT

Washington and mediators Qatar and Egypt have for months sought to reach a deal between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas to halt the war and release Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners.

The two biggest obstacles now are Israel’s demand to keep its forces in the Philadelphi corridor to maintain a buffer between Gaza and Egypt, and the specifics of an exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

KEY QUOTE

Blinken will discuss efforts to reach a deal “that secures the release of all hostages, alleviates the suffering of the Palestinian people, and helps establish broader regional security,” the State Department said in a statement.

CONTEXT

The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered last Oct. 7 when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel’s subsequent assault on the Hamas-governed enclave has killed over 41,000 Palestinians, according to the local health ministry, while displacing nearly the entire population of 2.3 million, causing a hunger crisis and leading to genocide allegations at the World Court that Israel denies.

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