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Egypt’s Large Military Presence in Sinai Continues to Raise Questions
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. Photo: Russian Presidential Press and Information Office.
JNS.org – The considerable Egyptian military presence in the Sinai Peninsula and ongoing infrastructure work has some observers in Israel alarmed.
Officially, the Israeli defense establishment says that coordination between the two militaries remains tight and contributes to regional stability. However, the concentration of forces in Sinai is not easily explained by previous justifications such as fighting ISIS, and raises the more troubling, seldom spoken, possibility that President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and his army view Israel as a potential future adversary.
On Feb. 4, Kan News, citing the Beirut-based, Hezbollah-aligned Al Akhbar newspaper, said Egyptian sources revealed that Cairo “conveyed an explicit warning to Israel in the military coordination meetings that the continued stay of IDF forces in the Philadelphi Corridor [on Gaza’s border with Egypt] would be considered a violation of the Camp David [Peace] Agreement between Israel and Egypt, and that Egypt would not be obligated to the agreement in the ongoing coordination regarding the situation of its forces on the border.”
The same report stated that “the Egyptian sources emphasized that Egypt’s messages are based on the adherence of the Palestinian factions to the clauses of the ceasefire agreement, on Cairo’s refusal to create a new geographic reality, and on the Israeli claim that it is possible ‘to eliminate Hamas.’”
Israel’s defense establishment, for its part, pointed to longstanding cooperation mechanisms that remain in place despite the reports of tensions. Israeli defense sources have affirmed that security coordination between Cairo and Jerusalem was and remains tight, “as it has been for years,” adding that “the security coordination reflects the common security interest of both countries for regional stability and preserving national security.”
Egyptian troop deployments in Sinai grew over recent years, ostensibly to fight jihadist insurgents, but some observers in Israel have raised the possibility that such a substantial presence could become a strategic liability under changed circumstances.
Three airfields
Moshe Fuzaylov, a research associate at the Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy and a former Shin Bet intelligence officer who served in senior roles in the organization, including as a member of its Executive Directorate, told JNS on Wednesday, “Israel approved for Egypt on different occasions to bring forces into Sinai [in excess of those permitted in the peace treaty], and we are today with a massive order of battle of the Egyptian Army in Sinai.”
Fuzaylov argued that Israel’s initial permissions stemmed from concerns over terror elements in the area, yet the resulting Egyptian buildup went far beyond a limited anti-jihadist counter-insurgency mission.
“They built in Sinai three airfields; at least one airfield is for fighter jets. They built huge reserves of gasoline and diesel,” he said. He added that Egypt also built large storage tunnels in Sinai for strategic storage of military gear, and transport links that could enable large formations to arrive in Sinai within a few hours.
Fuzaylov expressed concern that Israel’s defense establishment is not aware of the threat, adding, “We already understand what happens when we are so calm.”
On Oct. 6, 2022, marking the anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, el-Sisi said in a Facebook post that the conflict remains “proof of the will and steadfastness of the Egyptians and their adherence to the sovereignty and dignity of the nation.”
“The glorious October War will remain a turning point in our contemporary history, in which our armed forces restored the nation’s honor and pride and erased the stain of occupation from its lands,” he continued.
On Oct. 11, 2018, during remarks to commemorate the 1973 war, el-Sisi stated, according to a paper published that same month by Haisam Hassanein, a former research fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, “The battle didn’t end. In the past, the enemy was obvious. Now, it is not. Now, they are with us and inside us. They were able to create an enemy inside us that survives by killing us. And gets built by our destruction.”
The Egyptian president continued, “A big part of the challenge is building our awareness. What I consider the main enemy is incomplete awareness, or fake awareness. It requires us—not only on the level of intellectuals, thinkers, and the media, but more than that—to be fully aware of the reality we are in.”
According to Fuzaylov, “Egypt has no reason to prepare such systems and insert these forces, unless it assumes that Israel is its primary threat scenario.”
Trains for one purpose
Mariam Wahba, a research analyst at the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told JNS on Thursday, “For months now, reports have circulated about a significant Egyptian military buildup in Sinai, particularly near Rafah [on the Gaza border]. This movement isn’t necessarily abnormal—Egypt has previously deployed tanks and armored vehicles to combat ISIS, but these actions typically occur with Israeli consent and a notification to the United States, neither of which has reportedly happened this time.”
She added, “Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon recently raised concerns about this, saying that Egypt ‘trains for one purpose: war with Israel.’ If the reports are correct, it raises serious questions about Egypt’s intentions.
“The Egypt-Israel relationship has undoubtedly been strained by the war [against Hamas], but the enduring peace between the two nations has long served as a pillar of peace and stability in the region. As for the U.S.’s part in this, the White House should demand transparency from Cairo and press Egypt with the tough questions. This can serve as a key point of leverage for President Trump as he navigates a post-war plan for Gaza,” Wahba said.
Fuzaylov added that one of the factors that could have led President Donald Trump to announce on Tuesday an intention to create an American presence in Gaza is to create some sort of buffer between Egypt and Israel, and to signal to Cairo that the US is now involved in the area.
“President Trump understood this threat, mainly after October 7, [2023],” Fuzaylov argued.
On Jan. 31, Israeli envoy to the U.N. Danon voiced his own reservations.
“They spend hundreds of millions of dollars on modern military equipment every year, yet they have no threats on their borders,” he said, in reference to Egypt, questioning the rationale behind these massive acquisitions. “Why do they need all these submarines and tanks?” he asked, before warning, “After October 7, this should raise alarm bells.
“We have learned our lesson. We must monitor Egypt closely and prepare for every scenario,” Danon said.
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Israel Blocks Ramallah Meeting with Arab Ministers, Israeli Official Says
A closed Israeli military gate stands near Ramallah in the West Bank, February 18, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad
Israel will not allow a planned meeting in the Palestinian administrative capital of Ramallah, in the West Bank, to go ahead, an Israeli official said on Saturday, after Arab ministers planning to attend were stopped from coming.
The move, days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government announced one of the largest expansions of settlements in the West Bank in years, underlined escalating tensions over the issue of international recognition of a future Palestinian state.
Saturday’s meeting comes ahead of an international conference, co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, that is due to be held in New York on June 17-20 to discuss the issue of Palestinian statehood, which Israel fiercely opposes.
The delegation of senior Arab officials due to visit Ramallah – including the Jordanian, Egyptian, Saudi Arabian and Bahraini foreign ministers – postponed the visit after “Israel’s obstruction of it,” Jordan’s foreign ministry said in a statement, adding that the block was “a clear breach of Israel’s obligations as an occupying force.”
The ministers required Israeli consent to travel to the West Bank from Jordan.
An Israeli official said the ministers intended to take part in “a provocative meeting” to discuss promoting the establishment of a Palestinian state.
“Such a state would undoubtedly become a terrorist state in the heart of the land of Israel,” the official said. “Israel will not cooperate with such moves aimed at harming it and its security.”
A Saudi source told Reuters that Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud had delayed a planned trip to the West Bank.
Israel has come under increasing pressure from the United Nations and European countries which favour a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, under which an independent Palestinian state would exist alongside Israel.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that recognizing a Palestinian state was not only a “moral duty but a political necessity.”
Palestinians want the West Bank territory, which was seized by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war, as the core of a future state along with Gaza and East Jerusalem.
But the area is now criss-crossed with settlements that have squeezed some 3 million Palestinians into pockets increasingly cut off from each other though a network of military checkpoints.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said the announcement this week of 22 new settlements in the West Bank was an “historic moment” for settlements and “a clear message to Macron.” He said recognition of a Palestinian state would be “thrown into the dustbin of history.”
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Gaza Aid Supplies Hit by Looting as Hamas Ceasefire Response Awaited
Palestinians carry aid supplies which they received from the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in the central Gaza Strip, May 29, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
Armed men hijacked dozens of aid trucks entering the Gaza Strip overnight and hundreds of desperate Palestinians joined in to take supplies, local aid groups said on Saturday as officials waited for Hamas to respond to the latest ceasefire proposals.
The incident was the latest in a series that has underscored the shaky security situation hampering the delivery of aid into Gaza, following the easing of a weeks-long Israeli blockade earlier this month.
US President Donald Trump said on Friday he believed a ceasefire agreement was close but Hamas has said it is still studying the latest proposals from his special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. The White House said on Thursday that Israel had agreed to the proposals.
The proposals would see a 60-day truce and the exchange of 28 of the 58 hostages still held in Gaza for more than 1,200 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, along with the entry of humanitarian aid into the enclave.
On Saturday, the Israeli military, which relaunched its air and ground campaign in March following a two-month truce, said it was continuing to hit targets in Gaza, including sniper posts and had killed what it said was the head of a Hamas weapons manufacturing site.
The campaign has cleared large areas along the boundaries of the Gaza Strip, squeezing the population of more than 2 million into an ever narrower section along the coast and around the southern city of Khan Younis.
Israel imposed a blockade on all supplies entering the enclave at the beginning of March in an effort to weaken Hamas and has found itself under increasing pressure from an international community shocked by the increasingly desperate humanitarian situation the blockade has created.
The United Nations said on Friday the situation in Gaza is the worst since the start of the war began 19 months ago, with the entire population facing the risk of famine despite a resumption of limited aid deliveries earlier this month.
Israel has been allowing a limited number of trucks from the World Food Program and other international groups to bring flour to bakeries in Gaza but deliveries have been hampered by repeated incidents of looting.
At the same time, a separate system, run by a US-backed group called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has been delivering meals and food packages at three designated distribution sites.
However, aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF, which they say is not neutral, and say the amount of aid allowed in falls far short of the needs of a population at risk of famine.
“The aid that’s being sent now makes a mockery of the mass tragedy unfolding under our watch,” Philippe Lazzarini, head of the main U.N. relief organization for Palestinians, said in a message on the social media platform X.
NO BREAD IN WEEKS
The World Food Program said it brought 77 trucks carrying flour into Gaza overnight and early on Saturday and all of them were stopped on the way, with food taken by hungry people.
“After nearly 80 days of a total blockade, communities are starving and they are no longer willing to watch food pass them by,” it said in a statement.
Amjad Al-Shawa, head of an umbrella group representing Palestinian aid groups, said the dire situation was being exploited by armed groups which were attacking some of the aid convoys.
He said hundreds more trucks were needed and accused Israel of a “systematic policy of starvation.”
Overnight on Saturday, he said trucks had been stopped by armed groups near Khan Younis as they were headed towards a World Food Programme warehouse in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza and hundreds of desperate people had carried off supplies.
“We could understand that some are driven by hunger and starvation, some may not have eaten bread in several weeks, but we can’t understand armed looting, and it is not acceptable at all,” he said.
Israel says it is facilitating aid deliveries, pointing to its endorsement of the new GHF distribution centers and its consent for other aid trucks to enter Gaza.
Instead it accuses Hamas of stealing supplies intended for civilians and using them to entrench its hold on Gaza, which it had been running since 2007.
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Hamas Seeks Changes in US Gaza Proposal; Witkoff Calls Response ‘Unacceptable’
US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy-designate Steve Witkoff gives a speech at the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena on the inauguration day of Trump’s second presidential term, in Washington, DC, Jan. 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
Hamas said on Saturday it was seeking amendments to a US-backed proposal for a temporary ceasefire with Israel in Gaza, but President Donald Trump’s envoy rejected the group’s response as “totally unacceptable.”
The Palestinian terrorist group said it was willing to release 10 living hostages and hand over the bodies of 18 dead in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons. But Hamas reiterated demands for an end to the war and withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, conditions Israel has rejected.
A Hamas official described the group’s response to the proposals from Trump’s special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff as “positive” but said it was seeking some amendments. The official did not elaborate on the changes being sought by the group.
“This response aims to achieve a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and to ensure the flow of humanitarian aid to our people in the Strip,” Hamas said in a statement.
The proposals would see a 60-day truce and the exchange of 28 of the 58 hostages still held in Gaza for more than 1,200 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, along with the entry of humanitarian aid into the enclave.
A Palestinian official familiar with the talks told Reuters that among amendments Hamas is seeking is the release of the hostages in three phases over the 60-day truce and more aid distribution in different areas. Hamas also wants guarantees the deal will lead to a permanent ceasefire, the official said.
There was no immediate response from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office to the Hamas statement.
Israel has previously rejected Hamas’ conditions, instead demanding the complete disarmament of the group and its dismantling as a military and governing force, along with the return of all 58 remaining hostages.
Trump said on Friday he believed a ceasefire agreement was close after the latest proposals, and the White House said on Thursday that Israel had agreed to the terms.
Saying he had received Hamas’ response, Witkoff wrote in a posting on X: “It is totally unacceptable and only takes us backward. Hamas should accept the framework proposal we put forward as the basis for proximity talks, which we can begin immediately this coming week.”
On Saturday, the Israeli military said it had killed Mohammad Sinwar, Hamas’ Gaza chief on May 13, confirming what Netanyahu said earlier this week.
Sinwar, the younger brother of Yahya Sinwar, the group’s deceased leader and mastermind of the October 2023 attack on Israel, was the target of an Israeli strike on a hospital in southern Gaza. Hamas has neither confirmed nor denied his death.
The Israeli military, which relaunched its air and ground campaign in March following a two-month truce, said on Saturday it was continuing to hit targets in Gaza, including sniper posts and had killed what it said was the head of a Hamas weapons manufacturing site.
The campaign has cleared large areas along the boundaries of the Gaza Strip, squeezing the population of more than 2 million into an ever narrower section along the coast and around the southern city of Khan Younis.
Israel imposed a blockade on all supplies entering the enclave at the beginning of March in an effort to weaken Hamas and has found itself under increasing pressure from an international community shocked by the desperate humanitarian situation the blockade has created.
On Saturday, aid groups said dozens of World Food Program trucks carrying flour to Gaza bakeries had been hijacked by armed groups and subsequently looted by people desperate for food after weeks of mounting hunger.
“After nearly 80 days of a total blockade, communities are starving and they are no longer willing to watch food pass them by,” the WFP said in a statement.
‘A MOCKERY’
The incident was the latest in a series that has underscored the shaky security situation hampering the delivery of aid into Gaza, following the easing of a weeks-long Israeli blockade earlier this month.
The United Nations said on Friday the situation in Gaza is the worst since the start of the war 19 months ago, with the entire population facing the risk of famine despite a resumption of limited aid deliveries earlier this month.
“The aid that’s being sent now makes a mockery of the mass tragedy unfolding under our watch,” Philippe Lazzarini, head of the main U.N. relief organization for Palestinians, said in a message on X.
Israel has been allowing a limited number of trucks from the World Food Program and other international groups to bring flour to bakeries in Gaza but deliveries have been hampered by repeated incidents of looting.
A separate system, run by a US-backed group called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, has been delivering meals and food packages at three designated distribution sites.
However, aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF, which they say is not neutral, and say the amount of aid allowed in falls far short of the needs of a population at risk of famine.
Amjad Al-Shawa, head of an umbrella group representing Palestinian aid groups, said the dire situation was being exploited by armed groups which were attacking some of the aid convoys.
He said hundreds more trucks were needed and accused Israel of a “systematic policy of starvation.”
Israel denies operating a policy of starvation and says it is facilitating aid deliveries, pointing to its endorsement of the new GHF distribution centers and its consent for other aid trucks to enter Gaza.
Instead it accuses Hamas of stealing supplies intended for civilians and using them to entrench its hold on Gaza, which it had been running since 2007.
Hamas denies looting supplies and has executed a number of suspected looters.
The post Hamas Seeks Changes in US Gaza Proposal; Witkoff Calls Response ‘Unacceptable’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.