Is Egypt threatening Israel through its military exercises on the border?

EXPLAINERResidents along Israel's border with Egypt have expressed alarm at Egypt's plans for live-fire drills in Sinai.Published On 28 Apr 2026Egypt’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.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4What is Greater Israel, and how popular is it among Israelis?list 2 of 4Iran remains an obstacle to the ‘Greater Israel’ projectlist 3 of 4Negotiations that enable Israel’s land-grabslist 4 of 4Suspected pirates steer cargo vessel towards Somaliaend of list“The sequence of events is eerily reminiscent of what preceded the October 7 disaster,” one female resident of Bnei Netzarim, a town near the border, told YNet news. “How, after everything we’ve been through, does the [Israeli military] approve a foreign army operating with live fire right on the contact line?”“Gunfire noise is the perfect cover for smuggling or even a raid. Why allow them to get so close? They have vast areas in Sinai.”In a statement issued ahead of the drills, the Forum for Israel’s Border Communities also said it was unacceptable for Egyptian forces to conduct exercises so close to the border, adding that the drills resembled patterns seen in the lead-up to the October 7 attack, despite there being no reported link between Egypt and the Hamas led incursion of 2023.“We warn against the creation of dangerous norms that led to October 7,” the group said, appealing to Israel’s political leaders to halt the drills. “Residents of the border communities are not a testing ground for the State of Israel or a training zone for the Egyptian army.”