President Joe Biden’s national security advisor Jake Sullivan is heading to Cairo on Wednesday, September 29, for discussion with Egyptian government officials about growing tensions between Israel and Hamas.

According to reports, The Biden administration is leaning heavily on Egypt, which has long played a role as mediator between Israel and Hamas, for help in maintaining stability in the region even as it presses Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to stop his crackdown on dissent. Jeke Sullivan plans to follow up on the Egypt talks during a meeting with his Israeli counterpart, Eyal Hulata, next week in Washington, said National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne. He had already planned visits to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for talks focussed on finding an end to war in Yemen. The visit to Egypt comes after the Biden administration announced earlier this month it would withhold USD 130 million in military aid to the country over human rights concerns.

Egypt brokered a cease-fire after an 11-day war between Israel and Hamas erupted in May. The region has witnessed an increase in fighting in recent weeks, with tensions fueled by Israeli settlement construction and heightened militant activity in the northern West Bank.  Looming over the meeting in Cairo is the administration’s recent decision to withhold some military aid to Egypt.

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