Offering a path to a Palestinian state is the best way to stabilize the wider region and isolate Iran and its proxiesUS Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said today, during the last stop, in Cairo, of his Middle East tour on the war in Gaza.

Moving between Israel and Arab states, Blinken pushes for a way forward from the bloodshed in Gaza, though the conflict threatens to spill over into Lebanon, Iraq and the Red Sea shipping lanes.

Speaking to reporters after his meeting with the Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-SisiBlinken said the area faces two roads, with one seeing “Israel embedded [στην περιοχή]with security guarantees and commitments from countries in the region as well as the United States, and a Palestinian state — at least a path to that state.”

“The other way is to continue to see terrorism, nihilism, destruction from Hamas, from the Houthis, from Hezbollah, all supported by Iran,” he said.

“If you take the first path … that’s the best path to isolate, to marginalize Iran and the proxies that are making such a fuss — for us and basically anyone else in the region.”

Blinken’s visit came after Egypt and Jordan warned that Israel’s military campaign, which has killed over 23,000 Palestiniansaccording to the Gaza Ministry of Health, should not lead to displacement of 2.3 million inhabitants of the Palestinian enclave or end up in Israeli occupation.

Israel and its supporters in the US insist this is not Israel’s plan, but Egypt is worried as more and more Gazans push towards its border with the enclave.

Egypt along with Qatar are trying to mediate between Hamas and Israel to achieve a ceasefire and secure the release of Israeli hostages, while pushing for more aid to be distributed to southern Gaza.

Blinken was briefed on the efforts during his meeting with Sisi and Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel, according to a statement from Sisi’s office. Both sides declared their opposition to any displacement of Palestinians from their land, the statement said.

Blinken said on Tuesday, in an interview with NBC that he hopes Hamas will become involved in the ongoing negotiations for the release of the hostages, following the expiration of a deal that saw a cessation of hostilities in late November and the release of more than 100 hostages.

The war began with an October 7 attack by Palestinian Hamas militants that killed 1,200 people and took about 240 hostages, according to Israel.

Blinken, who visited nine countries and the occupied West Bank in a week, delivered a rough deal to Israel that stipulates neighboring mainly Muslim countries will help rebuild Gaza after the war and pursue economic integration with Israel only but if Israel commits to eventually allowing the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

That state would incorporate Gaza and the West Bank, where Blinken met Abbas in the de facto Palestinian capital of Ramallah yesterday, Wednesday.

Washington wants the unpopular Palestinian Authority to undertake reforms and regain its credibility in order to take over Gaza if and when Israel achieves its goal of eliminating Hamas, which has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007.