US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Egypt today, Monday, at a crucial time as Washington seeks to increase pressure on Hamas and Israel to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and ensure the war does not spread to Lebanon.

Blinken met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Cairo, and he is scheduled to travel to Israel later on Monday, where he will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

This is his eighth visit to the region since the war in Israel, which has sparked the deadliest events in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the senior US diplomat is expected to travel to Jordan and Qatar later this week.

The visit came after US President Joe Biden outlined on May 31 a three-phase proposal for a ceasefire from Israel envisioning a permanent end to hostilities, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and the reconstruction of Gaza.

Israel launched an attack on the Gaza Strip that resulted in the deaths of more than 37,000 Palestinians, according to the health ministry in the region in its update on Sunday, turning the area into a wasteland.

Blinken's visit followed the announcement by Israeli Minister Benny Gantz of his resignation from the emergency government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, withdrawing the only centrist force in the far-right leader's coalition during the war in Gaza.

In this context, ceasefire talks have intensified since Biden's speech, and CIA Director William Burns met with senior officials from Qatar and Egypt on Wednesday in Doha to discuss the plan.

Biden has repeatedly stated that a ceasefire was near over the past few months, but there has only been one week-long truce in November.