Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry called on the U.S. to leverage its influence over Israel to prevent further bloodshed in Gaza.
Speaking to CNBC’s Dan Murphy on Sunday at a World Economic Forum meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, he said “only the United States has the overall ability to influence conditions, and to motivate all sides concerned to find the point of convergence, and to be able to break the cycle of violence.”
His words echoed other Arab leaders at the WEF meeting who believe that ending the war in Gaza falls on the United States. Shoukry pushed Washington to “leverage their ability to provide incentives, but also to indicate consequences for the lack of achievement or the lack of progress in the cessation of hostilities.”
Hamas is reportedly reviewing Israel’s latest Gaza cease-fire proposal and a delegation from the group is scheduled to visit Cairo on Monday for talks, according to a Hamas official who spoke to Reuters.
Palestinians walk on a street, filled with debris of destroyed buildings due to the Israeli attacks, to return to their homes as extent of destruction comes to the surface following the withdrawal of the Israeli army from the some areas, including Al-Mecusi, in Gaza City, Gaza on April 24, 2024.
Dawoud Abo Alkas | Anadolu | Getty Images
The new proposal, spearheaded by Egypt, aims to halt a potential assault on Rafah, the southern Gaza city where over a million people are sheltering.
Israel has threatened to enter the city on Egypt’s border for weeks, against warnings from allies who have called on Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt the assault. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has also called on the United States to stop the attack on Rafah.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Saudi Arabia on Monday on his way from China to Jordan and Israel, where he is expected to “discuss ongoing efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza that secures the release of hostages and how it is Hamas that is standing between the Palestinian people and a ceasefire.”
Israel has cut food and water supplies to the Gaza Strip, home to roughly 2.3 million people, after the Hamas-led terror attacks of Oct. 7 that killed some 1,200 people in Israel and took a further 253 hostage. The subsequent Israeli aerial bombardment and land invasion has killed more than 34,000 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry there.