The White House is quietly maneuvering to bring Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi together for their first public meeting in eight years, Axios reported.

According to a U.S. official and an Israeli source cited in the report, the Trump administration views a Netanyahu–Sissi summit as a linchpin in a larger regional strategy. Egypt has been central to ceasefire mediation and hostage negotiations throughout the Gaza war, yet Sissi has avoided direct engagement with Netanyahu since the conflict began, refusing phone calls and keeping diplomatic channels strictly procedural. The two leaders have not been photographed together since 2017.

To bring Sissi to the table, Washington believes Israel will need to offer a significant package of concessions, chief among them a strategic natural gas agreement that would deepen economic ties between Jerusalem and Cairo.

“This is a huge opportunity for Israel,” a senior U.S. official told Axios. “Selling gas to Egypt will create interdependence, get the countries closer together, create a warmer peace and prevent war.”

The White House is urging Israel to demonstrate it has more to offer the region than military deterrence against Iran. For the administration, a successful Netanyahu–Sissi summit would serve as proof that Israel can build new cooperative frameworks in the Middle East even amid ongoing regional instability.

An Israeli source said Netanyahu has already assembled a team tasked with crafting a package of incentives to present to Cairo. Those measures are expected to focus on energy cooperation, economic development, and regional security coordination — all designed to rebuild trust with Egypt’s leadership.

“What we told Bibi is that he needs to turn it into a warm peace and then work together to de-escalate things in the region,” the U.S. official added. “If it works with Egypt, we can then do the same thing with Syria, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia.”

Such a strategy would represent one of Washington’s most ambitious diplomatic undertakings since the Abraham Accords. But success hinges on whether Netanyahu can deliver concessions meaningful enough to sway Sissi, who has spent the past year positioning Egypt as both a mediator and a critic of Israel’s conduct in Gaza.

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