After the bellicose atmosphere that prevailed on Saturday on the Israel-Lebanon front, the Blinken he is called upon by his presence in Israel to primarily contain it Hezbollah and secondarily Iran, so that they do not make some jerky move, which could literally blow up the positive diplomatic climate that was formed in Doha in the previous days. Repeated rocket and drone launches by Hezbollah and Israeli bombardment, which killed a leading member of the Lebanese organization’s Radwan commando force, were accompanied by the announcement by Lebanon’s public electricity utility that it was no longer able to meet the needs of the airport and of the port of Beirut, the building facilities of the prisons and other public services of the country, creating the feeling that an official extension of the war to the north is at hand.

Rafa’s Riddle

The second challenge facing Anthony Blinken is to bridge the serious differences that have emerged in recent weeks in Israel-Egypt relations over the security and sovereignty regime that will govern the Gaza-Egypt border. In recent weeks, Israeli military forces have been in full control of the so-called “Philadelphia Axis” and the Rafah outpost, creating strong resentment in decision-making centers in Cairo.

The United States realizes that if the crisis in the relations of these two key strategic partners in the region is not overcome first, the “Biden framework” for a ceasefire in Gaza will remain on paper. Despite the optimistic public statements of US officials, the leaks published by the Qatari newspaper Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed, which lead the US to propose guarantees on the ground, even by sending its own military forces to the Gaza-Egypt border, are indicative of concern. – a proposal that Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly rejects. On the other hand, Israeli military sources are reported to state media on condition of anonymity, that “the issue of control of the Gaza-Egypt border can be resolved with a timetable for Israel’s gradual withdrawal from the disputed border zone”, stressing that ” there is an understanding with the mediators.” However, the question of what stance Hamas will take also remains unanswered.

Hamas sees them differently

The optimistic atmosphere, fostered by US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators, appears to be tempered by Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan. With today’s statements in Arab media, he reiterates that Israel has allegedly added terms and conditions that are inconsistent with the framework of the truce that was discussed in early July, even adding that “the United States has decided not to put the appropriate pressure on the Israelis ”, which could break the deadlock.

Although no specific timetable has yet been announced for the talks to be held in Cairo, Israeli state media are reporting that, according to well-informed diplomatic sources, the talks will begin next Tuesday or Wednesday.

Until then, Anthony Blinken is called upon to find the golden ratio and bridge the differences, first between Israel and Egypt, and then between Israel and Hamas. Based on these data, tomorrow’s one-on-one meeting between Blinken and Netanyahu is expected to be extremely critical, while at the same time, press leaks state that as of yesterday evening, a group of Israeli experts is in Cairo with a view to continuing the critical negotiations.