Blinken pursues Gaza truce as Israel presses onslaught in south

He travels to Middle East to meet the main countries acting as mediators in the conflict

CAIRO - United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Egypt's president on Feb 6 as part of a 48-hour, four-nation flurry of shuttle diplomacy in search of a ceasefire in the Gaza war, while Israel pressed its onslaught in the south of the enclave.

Israel said its forces had killed dozens of Palestinian gunmen throughout Gaza in the past 24 hours, with fighting focused on Khan Younis in the south, and a threatened assault looming in a nearby border town teeming with displaced people.

Mr Blinken arrived in Egypt after a stop in Saudi Arabia, and departed for Qatar after Cairo. He is meeting the main countries acting as mediators in the Gaza war.

Palestinians hope Mr Blinken's Middle East swing will help nail down a ceasefire before Israeli forces storm Gaza's southern fringes, where over a million displaced people are sheltering.

It was Mr Blinken's first visit to the region since Washington brokered an offer, with Israeli input, for the war's first extended ceasefire.

Qatar and Egypt conveyed the offer last week to Hamas, which says it wants guarantees Israel will withdraw before it agrees to free remaining hostages its fighters captured in an Oct 7 attack that led to the current war.

US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Mr Blinken and Saudi Arabia's ruling crown prince discussed regional steps to achieve an enduring end to the war, tackling the humanitarian disaster in Gaza and limiting regional spillovers of the crisis.