CAIRO -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed frustration Wednesday at surprise escalations that threaten to derail efforts to broker a cease-fire deal in Gaza, noting that the United States is assessing a deadly attack that caused pagers used by Hezbollah to explode in Lebanon.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken hopes to advance efforts to achieve a ceasefire deal in Gaza as well as strengthen bilateral ties with Cairo when he visits Egypt on Wednesday amid concern about escalating Middle East tensions.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is focusing on brokering a ceasefire in Gaza and strengthening U.S.-Egypt relations during his visit to Cairo. Amid heightened Middle East tensions, Blinken met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and officials to discuss proposals for an Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostages' release.