"Egypt's plans to conduct live-fire exercises in Sinai have alarmed Israel's residents and security officers on the other side of their shared border. Although the drills were coordinated with Israel within the terms of the 1979 peace treaty between the two countries, Israeli residents, including those living close to Gaza, are reported to be concerned about their proximity. Israeli media suggest that many fear a return to the conditions that preceded the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed more than 1,000 people, most of them civilians."

"The sequence of events is eerily reminiscent of what preceded the October 7 disaster. How, after everything we've been through, does the [Israeli military] approve a foreign army operating with live fire right on the contact line?"

"We warn against the creation of dangerous norms that led to October 7. Residents of the border communities are not a testing ground for the State of Israel or a training zone for the Egyptian army."

"Under the 1979 Egypt-Israel peace treaty, Sinai is divided into zones with strict limits on military deployments. In Zone C, the area closest to the Israeli border, only lightly armed police and international observers are permitted. Although the treaty does not explicitly prohibit Egyptian military exercises, any deployment or activity involving regular army forces near the frontier would normally require prior coordination and Israeli approval. As a result, drills in these areas are regarded as highly sensitive within the treaty framework."

"Is Egypt really testing Israel's border readiness by conducting drills? It's unlikely."

"Cohen characterised the drills as part of a wider pattern that had seen Egypt assume a 「soft」 position towards Iran and oppose Israel's recognition of the strategically important territory of Somaliland in defiance of Somalia's internationally recognised government. Cohen also said Egypt had attempted to 「insert」 itself into ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Lebanon."

"Al Jazeera notes that the 「cold peace」 between the two countries has deteriorated since the October 2023 war in Gaza. In September 2025, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi called Israel an 「enemy」 for the first time since taking office in 2014 — a rhetorical escalation."

"In December 2025, Israel and Egypt signed a $34.7 billion gas deal."