In Egypt, Blinken to discuss bilateral ties and Gaza ceasefire

Blinken will not visit Israel on this trip, the first time he has skipped a stop in Washington’s closest regional ally since Palestinian militant group Hamas sparked the war in Gaza nearly a year ago. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that was because Washington aimed to discuss bilateral issues with Egypt on this trip and the Gaza ceasefire proposal that U.S. and mediators have been working on was still not ready to present to Israel. "So it would be premature to be presenting such a proposal, or doing any other diplomatic engagements," he added (Read more at USNews).