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.

An escalation in tensions in the Middle East over the detonation of Hezbollah pagers threatened to overshadow U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's latest regional diplomacy push, as he met senior Egyptian officials on Wednesday hoping to advance efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and improve ties with Cairo.

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.