Israeli foreign minister arrives in Egypt for official talks

ISTANBUL

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid arrived in Cairo on Thursday for talks with top Egyptian officials.

On Twitter, Lapid said the visit comes to "strengthen and deepen" ties between Israel and Egypt.

The Israeli top diplomat will meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry during his visit.

Lapid is expected to raise a host of issues with Egyptian officials over bilateral relations and regional issues.

According to the Israeli daily Jerusalem Post, talks will address Israeli hostages and soldiers' remains held by Hamas in Gaza.

In April 2016, Palestinian resistance group Hamas said it had taken four Israeli soldiers captive while withholding their identities except for Oron Shaul, an Israeli soldier missing since the 2014 Israeli offensive on Gaza.

In September, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett visited Egypt for the first official trip in 10 years, where he met with al-Sisi.

In 1979, Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty in Washington, ending a military conflict between the two countries.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara