Yesterday’s talk shows focused on US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Egypt to meet with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi: During his discussion with Faten Abdel Maaboud on her program Salaat El Tahrir, regional security analyst Mahmoud Mohieldin highlighted the significance of Blinken’s visit amid escalating violence in the region, calling it “a message to Egypt that the strategic cooperation between the two countries is ongoing and is not affected by developments in the Middle East.” Mohieldin added that this was especially evident in the fact that developments in Egyptian-Israeli relations during the Gaza war have not impacted Egyptian-American relations. Mohieldin went on to say that the visit reaffirms that this relationship is not influenced by oscillations in negotiations and tensions (watch, runtime: 9:17).

The State Department’s regional spox joined Ahmed Moussa to discuss the visit: Expanding Egypt-US cooperation was one key goal of Blinken’s trip to Egypt, the State Department’s regional spokesperson Samuel Warberg said during an appearance on Ala Mas’ouleety with Ahmed Moussa (watch, runtime: 2:48). Warberg focused his discussion with Moussa on the war in Gaza, saying, “The defense, military, and security relations between the United States and Israel are not new, nor did they begin after the events of October 7. They have extended for more than 75 years with successive US administrations, both Republican and Democrat. These relations are not solely about Hamas but also about attacks from neighboring countries like Iran, the Houthis, and Iraq.” He emphasized that ongoing efforts to end the war in Gaza in conjunction with Egypt are not connected at all to considerations around the upcoming US elections (watch, runtime: 2:54).

“Every inch of land in the Gaza Strip is Palestinian land”: In response to a question from Moussa about US concerns over Israeli forces’ presence in the Philadelphi Corridor, Warberg said that “for months, we’ve heard from the White House and the US Secretary of State about core US principles, including opposition to any Israeli occupation in Gaza. Every inch of land in the Gaza Strip is Palestinian land. Therefore, the Philadelphi Corridor is also part of Palestinian territory. In general, the US is against any reduction or shrinking of Palestinian lands” (watch, runtime: 2:20).

Will the mediation by Egypt, Qatar, and the US lead to a truce between the two sides? Warberg answered by referring to Blinken’s statement in a press conference about “needing to see political will” from both sides, explaining that the US secretary of state was referring to the fact that Hamas had agreed on nearly 95% of the details for a ceasefire agreement but that both sides needed to be willing to make agreement. He emphasized that the US, Egypt, and Qatar are acting as mediators between the parties, but that ultimately the mediators cannot impose their stance without sufficient political will from both sides (watch, runtime: 1:53).

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