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Israel’s Outgoing Military Chief Warns of Potential Threat From Egypt Amid Rising Tensions
Israeli Chief of the General Staff Herzi Halevi speaks at a ceremony for the 70th cohort of military combat officers, at an army base near Mitzpe Ramon, Israel, Oct. 31, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
Israel’s outgoing military chief has warned that Egypt’s expanding military capabilities could pose an unexpected threat to Israel in the future, despite their decades-old peace treaty.
Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, who next week will step down as chief of the general staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), told officer graduates during a speech in the Israeli city of Holon that Cairo is not currently a direct threat to Jerusalem. However, he warned that Egypt’s growing military capabilities, including advanced jets, submarines, and missiles, could change that reality at any moment.
“We are very concerned about this,” he said, referring to Egypt’s military buildup, before adding, “This is not at the top of our priorities. We have to give priority to our problems.”
Halevi’s remarks were aired on Wednesday by Israel’s Channel 14. They came after the military chief announced his resignation last month, citing his “responsibility for the IDF’s failure” during the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. His resignation will take effect on March 6.
“Egypt has a large army. It has advanced weapons, advanced aircraft, advanced submarines, and missile ships,” Halevi said during his speech this week. “We believe that this is not a threat now, but this situation can change in a moment.”
He also referred to Egypt’s first democratically elected president, an Islamist, saying, “In 2011, [Mohamed] Morsi took power with the Muslim Brotherhood.”
“Suddenly,” the Israeli military chief added, “this entire army had another leadership, which could have turned against you.”
Halevi’s latest remarks, which came amid rising tensions between Jerusalem and Cairo, did not mark the first time that a senior Israeli official had expressed concern over Egypt’s expanding defense capabilities.
Last month, Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter accused Egypt of a “very serious violation” of its peace treaty with Israel, raising concerns over Cairo’s military buildup and armed presence in the Sinai Peninsula.
“There are bases being built, and they can only be used for offensive operations and offensive weapons. This is a clear violation [of the peace agreement],” Leiter said during a meeting with the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.
While details about Egypt’s military buildup remain unclear, “satellite images have shown the movement of tanks and battalions that exceed the limits set by the Camp David Accords,” Mariam Wahba, research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), told The Algemeiner.
Under the 1979 peace treaty, Cairo can request permission from Jerusalem to deploy more than the 47 battalions allowed. One estimate, however, suggests that there are currently camps for 180 battalions.
“The Camp David Accords have long been a pillar of peace and stability in the Middle East,” Wahba explained. “A breakdown of the agreement would have serious implications, not just for Israel and Egypt but for the broader region. It could embolden actors like Iran and its proxies to exploit tensions and could lead to increased militarization along Israel’s southern border.”
Last month, Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon also raised concerns about Egypt’s military buildup, questioning the need for so many submarines and tanks.
“They spend hundreds of millions of dollars on modern military equipment every year, yet they have no threats on their borders,” he said. “After Oct. 7, this should raise alarm bells.”
“We have learned our lesson,” Danon added, apparently referring to Hamas’s Oct. 7 surprise invasion of southern Israel from neighboring Gaza. “We must monitor Egypt closely and prepare for every scenario.”
Addressing such concerns, Egyptian Ambassador to the UN Osama Abdel Khalek defended the country’s military strategy, emphasizing that its strong army is essential for national security and is purely defensive, aimed at maintaining regional stability.
Despite reports of growing tensions, Israeli defense sources have reportedly affirmed that security coordination between Cairo and Jerusalem remains tight, noting that such coordination has been in the interest of both countries for decades to protect their own national security and promote regional stability.
However, Egypt’s growing military presence in Sinai and ongoing infrastructure projects have raised concerns in Israel, particularly over the Philadelphi Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border. Since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, tensions between Jerusalem and Cairo have escalated as Egypt continues to demand an Israeli withdrawal from the area.
Egypt’s military buildup, reportedly in part in protest of Israel’s presence at the Philadelphi Corridor and to prevent a mass Palestinian exodus into the country, along with Jerusalem’s control of the corridor, could both violate the 1979 peace treaty.
Cairo has also rejected US President Donald Trump’s plan to “take over” the Gaza Strip to rebuild the war-torn enclave, while relocating Palestinians elsewhere during reconstruction efforts.
Like many other Middle Eastern leaders who rejected Trump’s proposal, Egypt has advocated a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Earlier this week, Egypt rejected any responsibility for governing Gaza after the Israel-Hamas war, reiterating its opposition to a new proposal by Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid, who suggested Cairo take over administrative and reconstruction efforts in the neighboring Palestinian enclave in exchange for the cancellation of its $155 billion external debt.
The post Israel’s Outgoing Military Chief Warns of Potential Threat From Egypt Amid Rising Tensions first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Security Warning to Israelis Vacationing Abroad Ahead of holidays
A passenger arrives to a terminal at Ben Gurion international airport before Israel bans international flights, January 25, 2021. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – Ahead of the Jewish High Holidays, Israel’s National Security Council (NSC) published the latest threat assessment to Israelis abroad from terrorist groups to the public on Sunday, in order to increase the Israeli public’s awareness of the existing terrorist threats around the world and encourage individuals to take preventive action accordingly.
The NSC specified that the warning is an up-to-date reflection of the main trends in the activities of terrorist groups around the world and their impact on the level of threat posed to Israelis abroad during these times, but the travel warnings and restrictions themselves are not new.
“As the Gaza war continues and in parallel with the increasing threat of terrorism, the National Security Headquarters stated it has recognized a trend of worsening and increasing violent antisemitic incidents and escalating steps by anti-Israel groups, to the point of physically harming Israelis and Jews abroad. This is in light of, among other things, the anti-Israel narrative and the negative media campaign by pro-Palestinian elements — a trend that may encourage and motivate extremist elements to carry out terrorist activities against Israelis or Jews abroad,” the statement read.
“Therefore, the National Security Bureau is reinforcing its recommendation to the Israeli public to act with responsibility during this time when traveling abroad, to check the status of the National Security Bureau’s travel warnings (before purchasing tickets to the destination,) and to act in accordance with the travel warning recommendations and the level of risk in the country they are visiting,” it listed, adding that, as illustrated in the past year, these warnings are well-founded and reflect a tangible and valid threat potential.
The statement also emphasized the risk of sharing content on social media networks indicating current or past service in the Israeli security forces, as these posts increase the risk of being marked by various parties as a target. “Therefore, the National Security Council recommends that you do not upload to social networks, in any way, content that indicates service in the security forces, operational activity, or similar content, as well as real-time locations.”
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Israel Intensifies Gaza City Bombing as Rubio Arrives
Displaced Palestinians, fleeing northern Gaza due to an Israeli military operation, move southward after Israeli forces ordered residents of Gaza City to evacuate to the south, in the central Gaza Strip September 14, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Israeli forces destroyed at least 30 residential buildings in Gaza City and forced thousands of people from their homes, Palestinian officials said, as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived on Sunday to discuss the future of the conflict.
Israel has said it plans to seize the city, where about a million Palestinians have been sheltering, as part of its declared aim of eliminating the terrorist group Hamas, and has intensified attacks on what it has called Hamas’ last bastion.
The group’s political leadership, which has engaged in on-and-off negotiations on a possible ceasefire and hostage release deal, was targeted by Israel in an airstrike in Doha on Tuesday in an attack that drew widespread condemnation.
Qatar will host an emergency Arab-Islamic summit on Monday to discuss the next moves. Rubio said Washington wanted to talk about how to free the 48 hostages – of whom 20 are believed to be still alive – still held by Hamas in Gaza and rebuild the coastal strip.
“What’s happened, has happened,” he said. “We’re gonna meet with them (the Israeli leadership). We’re gonna talk about what the future holds,” Rubio said before heading to Israel where he will stay until Tuesday.
ABRAHAM ACCORDS AT RISK
He was expected to visit the Western Wall Jewish prayer site in Jerusalem on Sunday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and hold talks with him during the visit.
US officials described Tuesday’s strike on the territory of a close US ally as a unilateral escalation that did not serve American or Israeli interests. Rubio and US President Donald Trump both met Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani on Friday.
Netanyahu signed an agreement on Thursday to push ahead with a settlement expansion plan that would cut across West Bank land that the Palestinians seek for a state – a move the United Arab Emirates warned would undermine the US-brokered Abraham accords that normalized UAE relations with Israel.
Israel, which blocked all food from entering Gaza for 11 weeks earlier this year, has been allowing more aid into the enclave since late July to prevent further food shortages, though the United Nations says far more is needed.
It says it wants civilians to leave Gaza City before it sends more ground forces in. Tens of thousands of people are estimated to have left but hundreds of thousands remain in the area. Hamas has called on people not to leave.
Israeli army forces have been operating inside at least four eastern suburbs for weeks, turning most of at least three of them into wastelands. It is closing in on the center and the western areas of the territory, where most of the displaced people are taking shelter.
Many are reluctant to leave, saying there is not enough space or safety in the south, where Israel has told them to go to what it has designated as a humanitarian zone.
Some say they cannot afford to leave while others say they were hoping the Arab leaders meeting on Monday in Qatar would pressure Israel to scrap its planned offensive.
“The bombardment intensified everywhere and we took down the tents, more than twenty families, we do not know where to go,” said Musbah Al-Kafarna, displaced in Gaza City.
Israel said it had completed five waves of air strikes on Gaza City over the past week, targeting more than 500 sites, including Hamas reconnaissance and sniper sites, buildings containing tunnel openings and weapons depots.
Local officials, who do not distinguish between militant and civilian casualties, say at least 40 people were killed by Israeli fire across the enclave, a least 28 in Gaza City alone.
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Turkey Warns of Escalation as Israel Expands Strikes Beyond Gaza
Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a press conference with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (not seen) at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, May 13, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Umit Bektas
i24 News – An Israeli strike targeting Hamas officials in Qatar has sparked unease among several Middle Eastern countries that host leaders of the group, with Turkey among the most alarmed.
Officials in Ankara are increasingly worried about how far Israel might go in pursuing those it holds responsible for the October 7 attacks.
Israel’s prime minister effectively acknowledged that the Qatar operation failed to eliminate the Hamas leadership, while stressing the broader point the strike was meant to make: “They enjoy no immunity,” the government said.
On X, Prime Minister Netanyahu went further, writing that “the elimination of Hamas leaders would put an end to the war.”
A senior Turkish official, speaking on condition of anonymity, summed up Ankara’s reaction: “The attack in Qatar showed that the Israeli government is ready to do anything.”
Legally and diplomatically, Turkey occupies a delicate position. As a NATO member, any military operation or targeted killing on its soil could inflame tensions within the alliance and challenge mutual security commitments.
Analysts caution, however, that Israel could opt for covert measures, operations carried out without public acknowledgement, a prospect that has increased anxiety in governments across the region.
Israeli officials remain defiant. In an interview with Ynet, Minister Ze’ev Elkin said: “As long as we have not stopped them, we will pursue them everywhere in the world and settle our accounts with them.” The episode underscores growing fears that efforts to hunt Hamas figures beyond Gaza could widen regional friction and complicate diplomatic relationships.