By Jana al-Masry | 2023-11-27

For more than 50 years, the United States has sought to defuse conflicts and support security and stability in the Middle East by building strategic relationships with regional partners and prioritising diplomacy.

Its recent efforts to prevent the conflict between Israel and Hamas from spreading is an example of this diplomacy in action, observers said.

The strong relationship between Egypt and the United States underpinned the declaration of the four-day Israel-Hamas truce that began Friday (November 24), they added.

The pause, mediated by Qatar, the United States and Egypt, was extended Monday for an additional two days.

"That's our goal, to keep this pause going beyond tomorrow so that we can continue to see more hostages come out and surge more humanitarian relief into those in need in Gaza," US President Joe Biden said Sunday.

He added he would like the fighting to be paused for "as long as prisoners keep coming out."

"I get a sense that all the players in the region are looking for a way to end this so the hostages are all released and... Hamas is completely no longer in control of Gaza."

Bulwark against meddling

"The United States, through its intense diplomatic activity in the Middle East region, has been able to serve as a safety valve, especially during intense crises," political researcher Abdul Nabi Bakkar told Al-Fassel.

During the latest Israel-Hamas war, "US diplomacy succeeded, through communication with parties and regional partners, to reduce the tension and prevent the expansion of the conflict," he said.

Such cooperation is "a strong bulwark against the efforts of some countries to stoke tension... in the region, and even escalate the tension to the stage of direct confrontation, military conflict and lawlessness," he said.

"This applies in particular to some countries, such as Iran, Russia and China, as these countries seek to create tension in the atmosphere to further expand [their influence]," Bakkar said.

The United States has maintained strategic partnerships and friendships with the majority of Arab countries for decades, he said, which has contributed to a significant calming of the situation during the present crisis, he said.

Seeking peace in the Middle East

Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, the United States and Egypt have affirmed "a package of points that must be achieved to secure stability," said retired Egyptian police officer Maj. Gen. Montaser Ahmed.

"The policy pursued by the United States during the Gaza war converged with the Egyptian policy to prevent the expansion of the conflict and the necessity of a ceasefire," he told Al-Fassel.

Both have sought "to prevent further civilian casualties and accelerate the entry of humanitarian aid to civilians into Gaza," he said.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi affirmed the concurrence of the US-Egyptian positions when he was asked, during a television interview, whether peace was possible in the region without the United States.

"Without it, it will not work," he said.

"If this shows anything, it is Egypt's affirmation of the constructive US role in the establishment of peace," Ahmed said.

He noted that the Middle East "has suffered and continues to suffer from devastating conflicts that have brought calamities on civilians."

"Had it not been for the intervention by the United States and regional partners, the region would have witnessed more calamities," he said.

Egypt has taken a decisive stance on several points on the Israel-Hamas conflict, including "the necessity of a ceasefire and ending the ongoing conflict in a way that guarantees the safety of civilians and the non-recurrence of armed clashes."

This is "in addition to not being drawn into expanding the circle of conflict, especially ensuring the security of civilians and emphasizing the necessity of sending medical, food and logistical aid to civilians," he added.

"These are points that are clearly and explicitly consistent with the US position."

Increasing humanitarian aid

The United Nations (UN) estimates that 1.7 million of Gaza's 2.4 million population have been displaced by the fighting.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on Sunday, the US State Department said.

Blinken "thanked Egypt for its partnership in reaching the hostage deal as well as Egypt's leadership and efforts to expand humanitarian assistance for Palestinians in urgent need," Blinken spokesman Matthew Miller said.

They discussed how to "increase the flow of aid into Gaza and to facilitate the safe exit of US and other foreign nationals," he said.

A humanitarian mission organised by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) evacuated Palestinians including injured people on stretchers by plane via Egypt's al-Arish airport for Abu Dhabi early Monday, AFP photographers said.

The pause in fighting has allowed more aid to reach Palestinians struggling to survive with shortages of water, food and other essentials.

The UN on Saturday said 61 trucks carrying medical supplies, food and water had delivered their loads in northern Gaza, amid the pause in fighting.

Another 200 trucks had been dispatched to Gaza from Nitzana, Israel, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement.

Eleven ambulances, three coaches and a flatbed were delivered to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City "to assist with evacuations," the statement said.

"The longer the pause lasts, the more aid humanitarian agencies will be able to send in and across Gaza," it added, thanking the Palestinian and Egyptian Red Crescent groups.

The day prior, a total of 137 trucks had delivered aid in Gaza, the UN said.