"Secretary Blinken reiterated to President El-Sisi the importance of facilitating the safe passage of American citizens and family members from Gaza," the department said in a statement.
In addition, Blinken noted the importance of ending hostilities, the statement read, adding that the parties also agreed on the need to resolve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, as well as provide guarantees that the civilian population of the region would not continue to suffer from the conflict.
On October 7, Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip, prompting Israel to declare a state of war the following day and launch retaliatory strikes. Both Israel and Palestine have reported over 1,000 deaths and thousands of injured as a result of the escalation.