The White House is set to hold a trilateral meeting between U.S., Egyptian and Israeli officials in Cairo next week to discuss the reopening of the Rafah crossing and a plan for securing the border between Egypt and Gaza, three U.S. and Israeli officials said.
A plan for reopening the crossing, preventing Hamas from smuggling weapons into the Strip from Egypt and maintaining a tenuous peace between Israel and Egypt are top priorities for the Biden administration.
The administration also views Egypt as a key player in any post-war plan for the stabilization and reconstruction of Gaza.
A U.S. delegation headed by the senior director for the Middle East at the White House National Security Council Terry Wolff is expected to travel to Egypt in the coming days.
The trip was agreed on during a phone call last Friday between Biden and Egyptian president Abdul Fattah el-Sisi.
During the call, Sisi agreed to Biden's request to resume the flow of aid trucks into Gaza through Israel, after deliveries were halted two weeks ago in protest of Israel's takeover of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing.
A U.S. official said Biden told Sisi that if the delivery of aid trucks wasn't resumed, the U.S. would publicly criticize Egypt for it.
He promised the Egyptian president that if the flow of aid was resumed, the U.S. would work to reopen the Rafah crossing as soon as possible, the U.S. official said.
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@ISIDEWITH2yrs2Y
In what ways do you think the stability of a region like Gaza affects global peace and security?
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Instability in any region is worrying on the world stage, and should be avoided.
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