OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: The United States ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, will visit Egypt for talks with Egyptian officials, a US embassy spokesman said Sunday, in what would be a rare trip by a sitting American envoy.
Huckabee’s meetings with Egyptian officials are part of regular diplomatic consultations conducted between US embassies in the region, the spokesman told AFP.
“This familiarisation trip reflects the United States’ ongoing commitment to maintaining open and constructive dialogue with regional partners to advance shared goals in the region,” the spokesman said.
The embassy did not disclose further details or a date for the visit, but media reports suggested it would be the first time in decades that a sitting US ambassador to Israel had visited Egypt.
The talks are expected to focus on the Gaza war, which has strained relations between Israel and Cairo.
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Egypt, along with the United States and Qatar, has been mediating between Israel and Hamas in efforts to end the war.
Cairo has criticised Israel’s ongoing air and ground assault in Gaza City, where the United Nations estimated a million people resided before the offensive began.
Since the war broke out in October 2023, Egypt has repeatedly warned that the fighting risks driving hundreds of thousands of Palestinians across its border into the Sinai Peninsula.
Israeli media have also reported Israeli concerns over an Egyptian military buildup in Sinai, though Cairo insists its forces are stationed there solely to defend its borders.
Huckabee’s planned visit comes just days after US President Donald Trump unveiled a new plan to end the Gaza war in talks with Arab and Muslim leaders.
Huckabee was appointed ambassador to Israel by Trump shortly after his re-election in November.
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