U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, is preparing for an important visit to Cairo for discussions with high-ranking Egyptian officials. This trip comes at a time when relations between Israel and Egypt are becoming increasingly strained.
Scheduled for the coming days, these talks will primarily address the ongoing conflict in Gaza, as confirmed by three U.S. and Middle Eastern officials who wished to remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of the information.
This visit marks a potentially historic occasion, as it would likely be the first official trip to Egypt by a serving U.S. ambassador to Israel in several decades. A meeting with Egypt’s Foreign Minister, Badr Abdelatty, is anticipated.
The specific involvement of the current U.S. Ambassador to Egypt, Herro Mustafa Garg, who was appointed during the Biden administration, in these upcoming discussions remains uncertain.
Requests for comment from the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs have not yet received an immediate response.
Ambassador Huckabee’s mission unfolds against a backdrop of severely deteriorating relations between Israel and Egypt, a direct consequence of the war raging in Gaza, a region sharing borders with both countries.
Egypt has openly condemned Israel’s ground assault on Gaza City. The concern stems from the fact that nearly one million Palestinians were sheltering there, and there is a significant fear that intense fighting could lead to hundreds of thousands being forced across the Egyptian border into the Sinai Peninsula.
Reports from Israeli news outlets indicate that Israeli officials have expressed worries to Washington regarding an Egyptian military buildup in the Sinai Peninsula, an area adjacent to both Israel and Gaza. Last week, the Egyptian government publicly addressed these reports, asserting that its forces in Sinai were positioned solely to protect Egypt’s borders from all threats. Furthermore, Egypt has refuted Israel’s claims that these troops violated the 1979 peace treaty between the two nations.
During his visit to Cairo, Ambassador Huckabee is expected to tackle these burgeoning tensions between the two nations. Both Israel and Egypt currently benefit from significant U.S. military aid, adding another layer of complexity to the diplomatic efforts.
A key component of the discussions will be a newly proposed plan for ending the war, which President Trump presented to Arab and Muslim leaders during the United Nations General Assembly this week, as reported by two officials.
Notably, Mr. Huckabee was appointed as ambassador by President Trump soon after his re-election, a choice reflecting his strong support for the state of Israel.
Historically, Egypt was the pioneering Arab nation to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, following their landmark 1979 peace treaty that concluded decades of conflict. Since then, their relationship has steadily evolved, characterized by intelligence sharing, significant energy agreements, and continuous direct communication between their respective leaders.
However, the ongoing Gaza war, triggered by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, has severely strained this relationship. Egypt has actively participated as a mediator, alongside Qatar and the United States, in attempts to negotiate a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.
Earlier this month, an Israeli strike on a residential building in Doha, Qatar, reportedly killed five Hamas affiliates and a member of Qatar’s internal security forces, who were staying there. This incident has cast a shadow of uncertainty over the resumption of cease-fire negotiations and Qatar’s future role as a mediator.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi strongly condemned this strike, cautioning that Israel was jeopardizing its diplomatic standing with Arab nations. He stated that the attack creates “obstacles before any new peace agreements and even strains the existing peace accords with countries in the region.”