Blinken meets Sisi as U.S. seeks to secure Egypt-brokered ceasefire

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met on Wednesday Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and a number of top officials.
Blinken’s visit is part of a Middle East tour aimed at shoring up a ceasefire that is brokered by Egypt and managed to end the worst fighting in years between Israel and Palestinians.
Egypt has longstanding relations with both sides in the conflict and orchestrated a key role in brokering the ceasefire after 11 days of violence, in coordination with the United States.
Blinken had a brief visit to Cairo, having met with President Sisi, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, and general intelligence head Abbas Kamel at the presidential palace. Blinken made no comments to media ahead of the meeting.
The U.S. Secretary of State arrived in Egypt after stops in Jerusalem and Ramallah and is also set to visit Jordan.
On Tuesday, he pledged that the United States would provide new aid to assist in rebuilding the Gaza Strip, including $5.5 million in immediate disaster relief and around $33 million for the UN Palestinian aid agency based there.