Agencies: Talks took place between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Cairo and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on Sunday, and he is expected to return to Israel, which he started his regional tour from, amid the Israeli army's preparation for a ground attack on the Gaza Strip.

During the meeting, Sisi stated that the Israeli response "has surpassed the limit of self-defense," expressing his concern over "collective punishment" for the residents of the Gaza Strip, and emphasizing his full rejection of targeting any civilians.

Sisi warned that delays in resolving the Palestinian issue will lead to more casualties, pointing out that "2,500 Palestinians have been killed during the recent violence in Gaza."

For his part, Blinken urged Sisi to "work together so that the current crisis between Israel and the Palestinians does not escalate."

Egypt is the seventh stop on Blinken's regional tour, which he began from Israel last Thursday and included Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia.

U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters upon Blinken's arrival in Cairo that "the Secretary of State will return to Israel on Monday for further consultations with Israeli leaders."

According to a statement issued by the Egyptian presidency, Cairo today called for a regional and international summit on the Palestinian issue, emphasizing its "rejection and condemnation of the policy of displacement or attempts to liquidate the Palestinian issue at the expense of neighboring countries."

This call came at the conclusion of a meeting held by the Egyptian National Security Council under Sisi's leadership prior to the arrival of the U.S. Secretary of State.

The Egyptian presidency stated that Sisi is conducting talks with international and regional partners to deliver aid to Gaza and to halt the escalation there.

Aid from many countries has piled up in North Sinai due to the inability to reach an agreement allowing its transfer to the Gaza Strip via the Rafah crossing and to evacuate some foreigners from the strip to Egypt.

Israel had bombed the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing during its ongoing assault on the Gaza Strip since October 7, following the Palestinian resistance's launch of the Al-Aqsa Flood operation.