Top US commander visits aircraft carrier, Gaza talks in Egypt and other Mideast news

Top US commander visits aircraft carrier, Gaza talks in Egypt and other Mideast news Adm. Brad Cooper toured the USS Lincoln while it operated in the Arabian Sea, a stop that concluded his Saturday‑ended swing through the region, U.S. Central Command announced. The carrier, which entered the theater in January, has logged more than 240 consecutive days at sea—a record for uninterrupted deployment. Cooper remarked, “History volition grounds this deployment arsenic 1 of the astir operationally aggravated and consequential of the modern era,” Cooper said of the Lincoln onslaught radical successful a connection released Saturday. He also visited Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to meet civilian and military leaders, according to the Central Command statement. The U.S. Navy’s blockade remains in place to counter Iran’s attempt to exert power over the Strait of Hormuz after the conflict opened on Feb. 28 with U.S. and Israeli strikes. Prior to that, roughly one‑fifth of global oil and natural gas transited the waterway, once regarded as an international corridor. Negotiations between Washington and Tehran have stalled while Iran engages Oman on how to manage the strait. A Hamas delegation headed by Khalil al‑Hayya arrived in Cairo for ceasefire‑related discussions, the group said. Al‑Hayya met with Maj. Gen. Hassan Rashad, chief of Egypt’s intelligence service, as reported by Egyptian state‑run media. He restated Hamas’ commitment to carry out U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza, saying, “end the suffering of the residents of the Gaza Strip and to statesman the reconstruction process,” al‑Qahera News tv reported. Mediators are urging adoption of a roadmap that calls for Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups to disarm, Israeli forces to withdraw, and authority to be transferred to Palestinian technocrats. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed Trump’s latest proposal to revive the stalled ceasefire, insisting Israel will not pull back from roughly 60 percent of the territory it holds until Hamas is fully disarmed