US envoy to Israel's rare trip to Egypt postponed

A visit to Egypt by Washington's top envoy to Israel, Mike Huckabee, has been postponed, a US official told AFP on Sunday.

Earlier, a US embassy spokesperson had said that Huckabee would be visiting Cairo for talks with Egyptian officials, making what media reports said would have been a rare trip by a sitting US envoy.

"The trip has been postponed," the official said, without providing further details.

Media reports said the talks had been expected to focus on the Gaza war, which has strained relations between Israel and Cairo.

"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 previously 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.

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 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.