On Seder night, we will retell how the Children of Israel once fled Egypt, but today’s relationship between the modern states of Israel and Egypt is a different story.
It’s been almost 50 years since then-Egyptian president Anwar Sadat flew to Jerusalem, becoming the first Arab leader to visit the Jewish state. At first, when he landed in Tel Aviv, Israeli intelligence, thinking the whole thing might be a trick, had stationed sharpshooters on the roofs of nearby buildings, worried that dozens of Egyptian soldiers would pour out of the plane and open fire.
Instead, when Sadat addressed the Knesset, he convinced the Israelis that he wanted peace.
“Today, I have come to you with firm steps, to build a new life and to establish peace,” he said. “We all, on this Earth, Muslims, Christians, and Jews alike, worship God and nobody but Him. God’s teachings and commandments are love, sincerity, purity, and peace.” That speech launched a process that led to the signing of the Egypt-Israel peace treaty in 1979, which has remained one of the pillars of the Jewish state’s national security doctrine for over 40 years.
There have, nonetheless, been ups and downs in the relationship.
When Sadat was assassinated in 1981, partly because of the peace deal he signed with Israel, many worried that Egypt’s new leader, Hosni Mubarak, would abrogate the treaty. When Mubarak was forced to resign in 2011 during the Arab Spring riots, there was concern once more.
Israel, Egypt work closely together
However, Israel has worked closely with Egypt to limit the danger from ISIS in the Sinai, which was a potential threat to the tens of thousands of Israeli tourists who visit the peninsula every year.
In the first years after the peace treaty was signed, Israelis flocked to Egypt, both to Cairo and, in even greater numbers, to Sinai, which reaped the benefits of Israeli tourism for decades. But tourism, along with enthusiasm about the peace treaty, was one-sided.
“As Israelis, we would like to have a warm peace – with tourism and cultural relationships,” David Guvrin, who served as the Israeli ambassador to Egypt from 2016 to 2019, told The Jerusalem Post. “But the Egyptians are not interested in such a relationship, and it takes two to tango.”
Guvrin explained that Egyptians who want to visit Israel have to submit to an interview with the Mukhabarat, Egypt’s feared secret police. In addition, professional organizations in Egypt, such as doctors’ and lawyers’ unions, have deprived those who apply to visit the Jewish state of their professional credentials. In addition, the Egyptian press continues to publish antisemitic interviews and cartoons.
Nevertheless, Guvrin called the peace treaty with Egypt “the major Israeli diplomatic achievement in the history of Israeli diplomacy.”
It also led to Israel’s peace treaty with Jordan in 1994, and to the Abraham Accords that brought peace with the United Arab Emirates and Morocco in 2020.
The Israel-Hamas War, which began on October 7, 2023, has strained the relationship between the two countries. Egypt borders the Gaza Strip and controlled it until 1967. It has long been concerned about the risk of large numbers of impoverished Gazans fleeing to Egypt. “The relationship has gone through major tensions and difficulties because of the ongoing war in Gaza, and what is happening in Iran now is not helpful at all,” Amira Oron, the Israeli ambassador to Egypt from 2020 to 2024, told the Post. “Egypt is very concerned about Gaza and keeping it stable. It will not allow any chaos that could damage Egypt.”
Analysts agree that the current Egyptian-Israeli relationship is facing challenges.
“The relationship is far more complex and uncertain than when we signed the Camp David Accords,” Dan Diker, president of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, told the Post.
“One of the reasons is that Egypt has disappointed us as a peace partner in its inconsistent behavior, particularly surrounding Hamas. We know that Egypt turned a blind eye and allowed an enormous amount of equipment and weaponry through the tunnels from Egypt to Rafah [in Gaza].”
During the Israel-Hamas War, Egypt, along with Qatar, mediated with Hamas to reach a deal that eventually freed more than 160 of the hostages kidnapped by the terrorist organization on October 7. The final release was part of a US-sponsored peace deal that called for Hamas to disarm, and Israel to withdraw from much of the Gaza Strip.
Those goals have been only partially achieved, as Israel remains in control of just over 50% of Gaza, where very few people live; and Hamas has reestablished control over the other half, where two million people are living in tents, with insufficient access to food and water.
The next phase of that plan, in which Hamas is meant to demilitarize and Israel to withdraw further from the Strip, stalled even before the war with Iran, and now seems unlikely to move forward soon.
US President Donald Trump had originally backed a plan for a “Gaza Riviera,” in which Gaza would be rebuilt with Gulf money, and Palestinians would temporarily leave the area – some even permanently.
Diker said that Trump’s original plan, which called for Gazans to leave the Strip, even temporarily, would have made Gaza reconstruction much easier.
“Egypt said, ‘Over my dead body,’ Diker recalled. “It is part of Egypt’s inconsistent and even unhelpful behavior,” he noted.
There are also differences over who should be in control in Gaza. Egypt would like to see the Palestinian Authority in charge of Gaza, along with members of Hamas. Israel rejects any involvement of either the PA or Hamas.
In December 2025, Israel and Egypt signed the largest energy deal in Israel’s history, a $35 billion deal in which Israel is to export 130 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Egypt from the Leviathan Field, run by Chevron. The deal will secure Egypt’s energy needs, which have been growing for decades, as the Egyptian population, currently at 120 million people, continues to increase. Analysts highlight how important Eastern Mediterranean gas will be for the future of the Middle East’s energy needs.
Operation Roaring Lion, aka Epic Fury, a war between Israel and the United States on one side, and Iran and Hezbollah on the other, has Egypt and Israel on the same side, along with the Gulf countries. While Egypt is not part of the conflict, it has a longtime enmity with Iran.
When the war with Iran ends, Trump may turn again to his Gaza plan, calling for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip and a new government there. If that happens, there are likely to be more tensions between Egypt and Israel in the future.