Trump says he held call with Egypt’s Sissi on Houthis, future of Gaza

US President Donald Trump says he spoke with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and discussed topics including military progress against Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis and possible solutions in the Gaza Strip.

Trump says the call went very well.

Egypt is a key US ally in the region and was the only country besides Israel to receive an exemption from Trump’s foreign aid freeze back in January, although the two leaders have been at odds with one another over their visions for the war-torn Gaza Strip.

After Trump suggested earlier this year that the US take over the Strip, relocate its roughly 2 million residents, and develop it as a real estate project, Sissi presented a counterproposal to rebuild the Strip without displacing its population.

Despite their disagreements, Sissi has previously said he believes “Trump’s leadership could usher in a golden age of Middle East peace.”