US officials will travel to Cairo to discuss opening Rafah

The US will send a team of senior officials to Cairo next week to discuss how to reopen Rafah border crossing, the White House said in a statement after President Biden’s call with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

The US has been pressing for Egypt to reopen Rafah border crossing since it was seized by Israel in May.

In a call with Biden, Sisi agreed to allow aid to move towards the Kerem Shalom border crossing which connects the Gaza Strip and Israel. US officials said previously that Egypt was not allowing trucks to move towards the crossing. 

However, Egypt and the US didn’t agree to reopen the Rafah border crossing.

“Biden also expressed his full commitment to support efforts to reopen the Rafah crossing with arrangements acceptable to both Egypt and Israel and agreed to send a senior team to Cairo next week for further discussions,” the White House said in a statement.