CAIRO 

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday that Israel's response in Gaza has evolved into “collective punishment,” local media reported.

According to Egypt's Cairo News Channel, al-Sisi met with Blinken in Cairo, as the top US diplomat is paying a visit to Egypt as part of his regional tour to reaffirm Washington's support for Tel Aviv in its ongoing fighting with Palestinian group Hamas.

During a meeting with Blinken, al-Sisi said that "the Israeli response has gone beyond the principle of self-defense to collective punishment against Gaza, which is home to over 2.3 million Palestinians."

He stressed that "the absence of a solution to the Palestinian issue has led to an exacerbation of anger."

Al-Sisi added that "delaying the resolution of the Palestinian issue results in more victims."

Blinken is conducting a regional tour that began on Thursday with a visit to Israel, followed by Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia. He is currently on an unspecified-duration visit to Egypt.

Last weekend, in a dramatic escalation of Middle East tensions, Israeli forces launched a sustained military push against the Gaza Strip, a response to a military offensive by the Palestinian group Hamas in Israeli territories.

The conflict began when Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against Israel, a multi-pronged surprise attack including a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel via land, sea, and air.

Hamas said the operation was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and Israeli settlers' growing violence against Palestinians.

The Israeli military then launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip.

Israel's response has extended into cutting water and electricity supplies to Gaza, further worsening living conditions in an area that has endured a crippling siege since 2007, as well as ordering more than 1 million Gazans in the northern strip to evacuate to the southern region.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala