Egypt Says Sinai Deployment Follows 1979 Treaty and Border Security Needs
Egypt said Saturday evening that its troop presence in the Sinai Peninsula—bordering Gaza and Israel—serves border security and is carried out under the terms of the 1979 Egypt-Israel peace treaty. The statement from Egypt’s State Information Service (SIS) followed Israeli media reports alleging Cairo has expanded military infrastructure in Sinai in ways that might exceed treaty limits. Officials said deployments are coordinated through the treaty’s mechanisms and designed to block cross-border threats.
“The forces in the Sinai Peninsula mainly aim to secure the Egyptian borders against all risks, including acts of terror and smuggling,” the SIS said, adding that the posture comes “within the framework of prior coordination” with parties to the treaty. The 1979 accord—part of the Camp David framework—divides Sinai into zones with specific force levels and is monitored by the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO). Since the early 2010s, Egypt and Israel have repeatedly used the treaty’s liaison channels to approve temporary adjustments as Cairo fought Islamic State–affiliated cells in North Sinai, a practice widely reported by regional and international media.
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The SIS statement also addressed the war next door. Since Oct. 7, 2023, Gaza’s health authorities say more than 65,200 Palestinians have been killed and around 166,000 wounded as Israel expands operations it says target Hamas fighters and infrastructure. “Egypt reasserts its full rejection of the expansion of the military operations in Gaza and the displacement of the Palestinians from their lands,” the SIS said, reiterating Cairo’s public stance against any forced movement into Sinai.
By linking its Sinai posture to treaty coordination and border defense, Cairo sought to counter claims of a breach while signaling continued opposition to a wider Gaza campaign and any scenario that pushes civilians across the Egypt–Gaza frontier.
