The leaders of Egypt and Israel met Monday as part of the first official trip to Egypt by an Israeli prime minister in over a decade, and rising tensions in the Gaza Strip were at the top of their agenda. Gaza is sandwiched between Israel and Egypt, and both countries have enforced a border blockade of the territory to varying degrees since 2007, when the Islamic militant group Hamas took control there. The meeting between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett signaled a warming in a relationship that had been security-focused but somewhat cool under Bennett’s predecessor, Israeli hard-liner Benjamin Netanyahu. El-Sissi and Bennett met in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, according to an official statement from the Egyptian presidency. Egypt’s state television showed both leaders sitting side by side in front of both of national flags, with the Israeli army’s chief of staff and Egypt’s foreign minister and the head of its intelligence service also in attendance. ראש הממשלה נפתלי בנט נועד היום עם נשיא מצרים עבד אל-פתאח א-סיסי, בשארם א-שייח׳. בפגישתם דנו המנהיגים בשורה ארוכה של סוגיות, ובכללן בדרכים להעמקת ולחיזוק שיתופי הפעולה בין המדינות, בדגש על הרחבת היקף הסחר ההדדיים, וכן בשורה של סוגיות אזוריות ובינלאומיות.https://t.co/lZ2Ni2eDvg pic.twitter.com/niNbGAbEbH — ראש ממשלת ישראל (@IsraeliPM_heb) September 13, 2021 It was the first official visit by an Israeli premier since 2010, when then Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak hosted a summit with Netanyahu, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Less than a year later, Egypt was rocked by a popular uprising that toppled Mubarak. El-Sissi told state television that he and Bennett discussed maintaining the cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, in addition to Ethiopia’s dam on one of the Nile River’s tributaries, which Egypt sees as a threat to its water supply. The Israeli premier, in a statement following the meeting, said he thanked el-Sissi for his country’s role in stabilizing Gaza and its help with Israeli missing and captives from Israel’s conflict with Hamas. Thank you President @AlSisiOfficial for a warm welcome in Egypt today and an important & productive meeting.