Biden calls Egypt's El Sisi for first time to discuss Palestine-Israel crisis

Pair discuss efforts to bring 11 days of fighting to close

US President Joe Biden called Me El Sisi on Thursday last week. AFP

US President Joe Biden and Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah El Sisi reviewed efforts to end hostilities in Israel and the Gaza Strip in a call on Thursday.

It was the first time the pair have spoken directly since Mr Biden took office in January.

"The two leaders discussed efforts to achieve a ceasefire that will bring an end to the current hostilities in Israel and Gaza," the White House said.

"They agreed that their teams would stay in constant communication toward that end and the two leaders would stay closely in touch."

In Cairo, the presidency said Mr Biden initiated the call and the two exchanged views on “how to co-operate to halt the violence and escalation in Palestinian territories in view of the latest developments".

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  A Palestinian man inspects the damage of a six-storey building destroyed by an early morning Israeli air strike in Gaza city. AP Photo

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  Palestinians, who fled their homes due to Israeli air and artillery strikes, wash their clothes at a UN-run school in Gaza city. Reuters

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  Rockets are launched towards Israel from the southern Gaza Strip. AFP

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  A satellite image shows the rubble of a Gaza Strip high-rise building. AP Photo

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  A member of the Palestinian Abu Dayer family receives treatment at Al-Shifa Hospital following an Israeli air strike on their home in Gaza city. AFP

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  More than 200 people, most of them Palestinians, have been killed in the attacks. AFP

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  Palestinians run amid Israeli air strikes on Gaza city. AFP

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  A Palestinian man reacts to the death of his father who was killed by an Israeli airstrike that destroyed the upper floors of a commercial building and caused damage to a health ministry and prime health care clinic in Gaza city. AP Photo

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  A ball of fire explodes above buildings in Gaza city as Israeli forces shell the Palestinian enclave. AFP

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  Israeli soldiers cheer as they take photos at an artillery position along the Israel-Gaza border. AP Photo

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  Wounded Palestinian girl Sara Al-Metrabeeay lies on a bed in Shifa Hospital in Gaza city. Reuters

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  Fighting continues between the Israeli Army and Hamas forces at the Gaza border, Israel. EPA

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  Israelis gather to watch the Iron Dome aerial defence system launch a missile to intercept a rocket launched from the Gaza Strip, above the city of Ashdod. AFP

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  An Israeli artillery soldier carries shells as their unit aims at targets in the Gaza Strip. EPA

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  People inspect a destroyed car inside a house, following an Israeli airstrike on the upper floors of a commercial building in Gaza city. AP Photo

News of their conversation broke as unconfirmed reports discussed a nearing truce between Israel and Hamas, the militant Palestinian group that rules the Gaza strip, to end 11 days of fighting.

The White House said the two leaders agreed to bolster co-ordination between “relevant agencies” in both countries to halt the “escalation” between Israel and the Palestinians.

Egypt, which borders both Gaza and Israel, has been actively mediating between the two sides.

The US, which sponsored Egypt’s 1979 peace treaty with Israel, has this week demanded a major de-escalation in the violence.

Hostilities between the two sides broke out when Hamas fired its first barrage of rockets on Israel two weeks ago, after Palestinians battled Israeli security forces on the streets of Jerusalem, and to avenge the storming of the city’s Al Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third-holiest site, by Israeli police during Ramadan.

The phone conversation is a milestone in Egypt’s relations with Washington’s Democratic administration after a period of tension.

While day-to-day relations continued apace between the two countries since Mr Biden’s election, the absence of direct contact between the president and Mr El Sisi appeared to be awkward.

That omission was considered to be a deliberate snub despite the fact that Mr El Sisi had not been alone in waiting for a call.

The Biden administration made it clear that it wanted to see Egypt improve its human rights record and stop its purchase of Russian arms, including cutting-edge Su-35 fighter jets.

Egypt has been a close Washington ally since 1979 when it became the first Arab nation to sign a peace treaty with Israel, America’s closest Middle East partner.

For continuing to honour that treaty, and with its counter-terrorism role in the region, Egypt has received billions of dollars’ worth of economic and military aid every year, which runs at about $1.3 billion annually.