A top US politician has been holding talks with Egyptian and Qatari leaders to try and save lives in the Middle East. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is urging both sides in the Israeli-Gaza war to agree to a temporary ceasefire in Gaza to allow humanitarian aid to go in to help Palestinian civilians.
In Cairo, Egypt, Blinken met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, and was due to travel to Doha for ongoing talks with Qatar’s ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani.
It is hoped the group will work together to get a ceasefire of “several weeks” in place plus release a number of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
A spokesman for Blinken's office said: “The ball right now is in Hamas’ court. Egypt and Qatar have pushed Hamas to accept what is a strong and compelling proposal but ultimately Hamas has to decide.”
A previous temporary ceasefire, in late November, lasted for a week. During that time, more than 100 hostages were freed from Gaza and 240 Palestinian prisoners were freed by Israel.
Blinken began his trip to Saudi Arabia on Monday. He also has stops later in the week scheduled in Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
He previously travelled to Israel in November in a bid to stop the conflict from escalating.
It’s not the first time that Mr Blinken has stepped in during a regional conflict, having previously visited Ukraine as well. So, who is Mr Blinken and what exactly is his role?
Who is Antony Blinken?
Antony Blinken, 61, is the US secretary of state.
He was nominated by Joe Biden in 2020 and confirmed by the Senate in 2021.
Mr Blinken has spent a lot of his professional career working in diplomacy and politics prior to being appointed secretary of state. He has worked with countless US presidents and worked on maintaining security through relationships with other global leaders.
During his career, he worked at the US State Department and the National Security Council, and was responsible for Bill Clinton’s foreign policy speeches. He’s also served as a national security adviser and deputy secretary of state under Barack Obama.
What is Antony Blinken’s role?
According to the US government website, Mr Blinken is responsible for carrying out the president’s foreign policy and acts as the chief foreign affairs advisor as secretary of state.
Other responsibilities that Mr Blinken has in this role include undertaking negotiations on behalf of US foreign affairs, suggesting diplomatic appointments, supervising the foreign service, and providing information to Americans about political, economic, social, cultural, and humanitarian issues around the world.
In a speech from 2016, Mr Blinken appears to sum up his commitment to foreign affairs, saying: “Put simply, the world is safer for the American people when we have friends, partners, and allies.”
Thanks to his role, Mr Blinken is quite the traveller. The diplomat has visited leaders and national representatives in countless countries around the world since he was appointed in 2021.
