Egypt and the Gaza war

Egypt, which shares a 12-kilometer land border with the Gaza Strip, has largely adopted a neutral and non-interventionist position toward the Gaza war. Its involvement has been limited to certain evacuations of wounded children and the exit of individuals able to bear the high costs required to facilitate extremely limited crossings.

Egypt also maintained a low-profile response when Israeli forces seized control of the Rafah crossing on the Egyptian-Palestinian border in May 2024, in a move widely regarded as a violation of the Egypt–Israel peace treaty.

Egypt also refrained from expressing any substantive opposition to Israel's violations in the Gaza Strip. The closest gesture resembling a form of protest may have been the reported delay in the arrival of the Israeli ambassador to Cairo as of May 2025. Meanwhile, the Egyptian ambassador remained in Tel Aviv until his departure from the post in September 2024.

The Egyptian government’s stance has been described as complicit in genocide, exposing it to possible prosecution in international courts due to its refusal to intervene to protect civilians or to admit those subjected to or at risk of persecution.

Egypt also refused to allow foreign solidarity activists to pass through to the Rafah crossing and deported them to their countries. The government claims that this policy stems from concerns about forced displacement and terrorism in Sinai, as well as assertions that the settlement of Palestinians there could lead to the establishment of a state in the peninsula. Notably, Egypt has no historical precedent of hosting Palestinian refugees on a wide scale.

The Egyptian government under President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi continues to resist mounting pressure to take more substantive action, particularly given Egypt’s geographical proximity to Gaza and its ability to alleviate the suffering of Palestinian civilians. While activists have repeatedly called on Egypt to open its border to civilians, no major international actor has issued such a demand.

Maritime disruptions in the Red Sea attributed to the Houthis in Yemen—which have affected Egypt economically due to reduced traffic through the Suez Canal—did not lead Cairo to adopt a more active role in efforts to end the war in Gaza. Egypt also did not issue any threat to suspend or reconsider its peace treaty with Israel.

Protests have been held outside Egyptian embassies and consulates in several cities—such as Beirut, Ankara, Istanbul, and The Hague—calling for the opening of the Rafah crossing to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Background

The peace agreement between Israel and Egypt delineated the international border between the two states, basing it on the historical boundary between Mandatory Palestine and Egypt. As part of the agreement, the border area adjacent to the Gaza Strip was designated as Zone "D," a demilitarized zone extending up to three kilometers from the Israeli-Egyptian border. Within this zone, Israel is permitted to maintain a limited military force consisting of no more than four infantry battalions—up to 4,000 soldiers in total—with minimal field fortifications. The zone is also subject to monitoring by United Nations observers.

Prior to the outbreak of the war in October 2023, Egypt adhered to the blockade of the Gaza Strip, opening the Rafah crossing only on very limited and infrequent occasions. Additionally, the Sisi government demolished the Egyptian city of Rafah and displaced its residents in order to establish a buffer zone along the border with the Palestinian territory. Egypt receives annual military aid from the United States amounting to $1 billion, following the signing of the peace treaty.

Egyptian position

On October 18, 2023, during a meeting in Cairo with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi made controversial remarks suggesting that Israel could relocate civilians to the Negev Desert temporarily while dealing with armed groups in the Gaza Strip. He further stated that the displacement of Palestinians toward Egypt would turn Sinai into a launching ground for armed operations against Israel, which, in response, would defend itself by striking targets on Egyptian territory. On December 25, 2023, it was reported that Hamas and Islamic Jihad rejected an Egyptian proposal that called for them to relinquish authority in exchange for a permanent ceasefire. The factions declined to make any concessions beyond the release of additional hostages.

On October 27, 2024, el-Sisi proposed a two-day truce in exchange for the release of four Israeli hostages and a number of Palestinian detainees.