On Thursday, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid arrived in Cairo for talks with top Egyptian officials. Lapid said the visit comes to “strengthen and deepen” ties between Israel and Egypt in a statement on Twitter.
Lapid is expected to raise a host of issues during meetings with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry over bilateral relations and regional issues.
Talks will address Israeli hostages and soldiers’ remains held by Hamas in Gaza, according to the Israeli daily Jerusalem Post.
Four Israeli soldiers were held captive in April 2016 by Hamas while withholding their identities except for Oron Shaul, an Israeli soldier missing since the 2014 Israeli offensive on Gaza.
Previously, in September, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett visited Egypt where he met with el-Sisi, which marked the first official trip by an Israeli prime minister to the country in 10 years.
