Blinken in Egypt seeking progress towards Gaza ceasefire deal

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken flew to Egypt on August 20, pushing for areas of possible progress on a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal in talks planned for later this week, with major areas of dispute left unresolved, Report informs referring to Reuters.

Blinken arrived in Egypt from Tel Aviv, where he said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had accepted a US "bridging proposal" aimed at narrowing the gaps between the two sides after talks last week paused without a breakthrough.

He urged Hamas to also accept the proposal as the basis for more talks.