Egypt's work to broker and secure a truce in the Gaza Strip this month has thrust it into the diplomatic spotlight, prompting top-level re-engagement from Washington and overshadowing moves by several Arab states to normalize ties with Israel.

The efforts have earned Cairo recognition at a time when it was struggling to strike a rapport with U.S. President Joe Biden's administration amid differences on human rights and to make progress on its top foreign policy goal — a deal to regulate an Ethiopian dam that Egypt sees as a major threat to its supplies of Nile water.

While Cairo has mediated during previous rounds of violence between Israel and the Palestinians through its ties with both sides, analysts and diplomats say its efforts have been more visible than in recent years.