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Egypt Signals to US It Has Options After First Air Drill with China

China and Egypt have launched their first-ever joint air force drill, “Eagles of Civilization 2025,” at an Egyptian airbase. Photo: Screenshot

JNS.orgA recent joint Egyptian-Chinese first-ever joint air force exercise held in Egypt likely contains messages to the United States and should be closely monitored by Israel, Israeli observers have told JNS.

Egypt announced on April 19, 2025, the commencement of the “Eagles of Civilization 2025,” which brought together multirole fighter jets and other types of aircraft from both countries in Egyptian airspace.

While official Egyptian sources did not detail the specific aircraft involved, Chinese state media outlet CCTV confirmed China’s participation with J-10C multirole fighters and aired footage on April 19 showing a J-10C flying alongside an Egyptian MiG-29 over the Wadi Abu Rish air base, located southeast of Cairo.

According to a report by Israel Defense, the Chinese contingent, including aircraft and personnel, received a formal welcome from senior Egyptian commanders upon arrival. The exercise spanned multiple Egyptian air bases and emphasized operational cooperation between the two air forces.

This collaboration was widely interpreted as signaling Egypt’s intention to broaden its security partnerships, potentially looking beyond its traditional, decades-long military alliance with the United States.

At the same time, Brig. Gen. (res.) Professor Jacob Nagel, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, former acting national security adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former head of Israel’s National Security Council, advised against overstating the drill’s immediate implications while also cautioning against dismissing it entirely.

“I would not attach excessive importance to the drill. On the other hand, I would not completely disregard it,” Nagel told JNS on Wednesday. “I think that the one who perhaps needs to say something to the Egyptians is indeed the USA, which transfers considerable aid to them.”

Nagel stressed the enduring nature of the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty, due to its importance for both nations, particularly for Egypt’s economy.

“Egypt preserves the peace agreement and it is important to it at least as much as it is important to Israel, certainly economically, so that even in the days of [former Muslim Brotherhood President Muhammad] Morsi, who did not agree to mention the word Israel, did not dare touch the agreement,” he said.

Asked to address recent Israeli concerns about Egyptian military build-up in the Sinai Peninsula, Nagel said the situation should be handled discreetly but firmly.

“Israel does not want to add the Egyptian front to the fronts in which it is currently engaged, but Egypt is a force that must not be underestimated and one must keep a wide-open eye to identify dangers from there, certainly after Oct. 7,” he stated.

Despite these concerns, Nagel said that “this still does not make Egypt a current enemy of Israel. There is a peace agreement between the countries, and even if it is cold, it is very important to both sides.”

The drill occurred against a backdrop of increasing Chinese engagement across the Middle East. Although Beijing has avoided direct military deployments, it has expanded its influence through significant arms sales, diplomatic interventions like the 2023 Saudi-Iran rapprochement it mediated, and extensive infrastructure investments under initiatives such as the Belt and Road.

Dr. Ori Sela, Professor at the Department of East Asian Studies at Tel Aviv University and Senior Visiting Researcher at the INSS, placed the air exercise in the context of a longer history of Sino-Egyptian military relations.

“While the joint exercise is a milestone of sorts for China-Egypt military collaboration, it should be understood through a more general perspective,” Sela explained. “First, China and Egypt have had military relations for a long time. This also includes joint military exercises, albeit the naval dimension was usually the focal point.”

He noted that China conducts similar drills with other states in the Middle East, such as Turkey and the UAE.

Sela also linked the exercise to Egypt’s broader strategy of diversifying its military procurement and partnerships, an effort underway for some time.

“China has also been exporting arms to Egypt, and rumors about sales of more advanced platforms (both aerial—the J10C fighter, and naval— the Type 039A submarine, for example) have been around for some time now,” he noted, adding, “These, however, are part of a longer and more robust diversification effort by the Egyptians.”

At the same time, Sela said, the appearance of the Chinese KJ-500 [Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft] in Egypt now “does hint at a Chinese attempt to project more advanced capabilities to the region, and Israel should monitor this situation closely.”

The exercise does not necessarily mean that Egypt is pivoting away from Washington, but rather is a strategic signal towards its long-time ally, he argued, “that Egypt does have options, and that while the U.S. is sometimes quick to threaten countries and make demands, Egypt is hoping to have the ability to hedge against possible negative moves by the US.”

Sela suggested a path forward for Jerusalem regarding these dynamics, stating, “Israel would be wise to encourage the strengthening of the US-Egypt relationship rather than add fuel to the fire, and, at the same time, its own relationship with Egypt. Driving wedges between Egypt and the US would be a mistake.”

The post Egypt Signals to US It Has Options After First Air Drill with China first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War

Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa

Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.

Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.

“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”

GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’

Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.

“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.

“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.

“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.

After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”

RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL

Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”

Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.

“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.

She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”

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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests

A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco

Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.

People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.

“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”

Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.

On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.

Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.

On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.

“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.

Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.

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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan

Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.

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