Egyptian military vehicles hold a position, near the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah, Egypt January 19, 2025. (Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany)
Egypt signed a peace agreement with Israel in 1979 and has been a leading mediating actor between the Jewish state and the terrorist organization Hamas in Gaza. Yet, Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon recently raised concerns about Egypt’s military buildup in an interview with journalist Mendi Rizel on the Kol Barama radio program, “News of the Week.”
“They spend hundreds of millions of dollars on modern military equipment every year, yet they have no threats on their borders,” Danon assessed. “Why do they need all these submarines and tanks? After October 7, alarm bells should be raised. We have learned our lesson. We must monitor Egypt closely and prepare for every scenario,” the Israeli UN envoy warned.
Unlike the Iranian and Syrian militaries that largely rely on outdated Russian military systems, Egypt has, after its peace agreement with Israel, acquired a large quantity of advanced American and Western military equipment. Egypt has emerged as one of the strongest military powers in the Middle East.
“We need to ask the United States why Egypt requires all this equipment,” Danon said, his remarks reflect the growing level of distrust between Jerusalem and Cairo.
While the countries are formally at peace, Egypt has for decades insisted on keeping relations with Israel to the bare minimum. Furthermore, anti-Israel sentiments are still widespread in Egyptian society.
Unlike Israel, Egypt does not face significant security threats from its neighboring countries. However, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has adopted a policy of large-scale military expansion.
In December 2024, the Egyptian government secured a $5 billion arms deal with the United States. The U.S. State Department greenlighted the sale of advanced military equipment including American-made M1A1 Abrams tanks, precision-guided munitions and Hellfire air-to-surface missiles. Egypt receives approximately $1.3 billion in aid from the United States every year.
The 1979 peace agreement between Egypt and Israel stipulates that the Sinai Peninsula should be kept demilitarized. However, when the radical Islamist terror group ISIS emerged in the Sinai, Israel authorized a limited and temporary Egyptian military presence in the peninsula, which borders Israel and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
In addition, Cairo and Jerusalem cooperated in uprooting ISIS cells from the Sinai area. Yet, Egypt gradually boosted its military presence in Sinai and indicated that its presence is long-term.
Israeli leaders are, therefore, increasingly concerned that the Egyptian military buildup is directed at Israel and that Cairo still views the Jewish state as its main enemy despite over four decades of formal peace.
Israel requested earlier this month that Egypt explain its growing military presence in the Sinai Peninsula.
Channel 14’s diplomatic correspondent Tamir Morag warned about the massive Egyptian military buildup by placing it in a wider context.
“Egypt, the largest Arab state with approximately 117 million residents, cannot feed, house, or provide for its population. Yet, this does not stop it from building in recent years a massive army, a powerful navy, and an air force capable of challenging and complicating matters for the Israeli Air Force (F-16s, Su-35s, MiG-29s, Mirage 2000s and Dassault Rafales). This entire military force, which repeatedly violates and erodes the Camp David Accords, trains for one purpose: war with Israel,” Morag warned.