By Andrea Tucci,
The Egyptian army is the strongest Arab army, and it is one of the major armies in the region, along with the Israeli, Turkish and Iranian armies and ranked ninth in the world in 2020, ahead of the Turkish and Israeli armies, but it dropped ten places to 19th in the world in 2025. This decline may be due to other armies that may have jumped to higher ranks because they are developing their weapons systems, the number of their forces and their equipment, including the Israeli army, which ranked 15th globally, but also perhaps due to a the lack of the necessary financial liquidity.
The concerns lately expressed by Israeli military staff and politicians about Egypt’s armament are simply a trick to blackmail Egypt, and impose positions and policies related to the displacement of the people of Gaza to Egypt, or involving Egypt in the management of the Strip, and Hamas’s disarming.
Historically Egypt has deep ties with the people of Gaza, and have made great sacrifices for the Palestinian cause through five previous wars; namely the 1948 Nakba War, the Suez War in 1956, the 1967 War, the War of Attrition, and ending with the October War of 1973.
Actually, Israel realise that the current Egyptian regime does not want another war and does not want to violate the Camp David peace accords of 1979, and truly the Israeli allegations aim to fabricate pretexts and justifications to put more pressure on the Egyptian position that rejects the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza.
Few days ago Egypt has finally presented its ‘day after’ plan to rebuild Gaza. This program It is more detailed, and far more realistic than President Donald Trump’s insane proposal that aimed for a US takeover of the strip and the removal of its people.
This plan, in primis is been dismissed by Israel arguing that it fails to address the realities on the ground but than also the US appeared quite skeptical about it.
Israel’s outright rejection appears to be a calculated move aimed at thwarting the plan before it can take root, thereby facilitating the project for the displacement of Palestinians.
More specifically Egypt’s plan, adopted at the Arab Summit in Cairo on 4 March, outlines a comprehensive five-year reconstruction and social rehabilitation initiative, projected to cost $53 billion.
In the first six months, a committee of experts should manage the clearance of rubble and unexploded ordnance with a mandate from the Palestinian Authority, than a four-and-a-half-year reconstruction phase will follow.
Moreover, should be established an international fund tied the financial responsibilities, where the Egyptian companies will execute the work on the ground.The plan suggests that UN-led peacekeeping forces could be deployed in Gaza and the West Bank during a this period, however, it doesn’t address Hamas’s future, saying only that the issue must be decided by a peace process.
On this purpose, Tel Aviv distrusts the UN peacekeeping missions on its borders, and it insists on adopting a security-only approach in dealing with Hamas. This would make it highly likely that the US will block the peacekeeping mission at the UN Security Council; additionally the Gulf states have major concerns about Hamas and it’s ties to Iran and they despising the Palestinian Authority’s political stagnation, incompetence and rampant corruption.
But they are equally frustrated with Netanyahu’s efforts to stall the peace process to preserve his political career and their participation in reconstruction is uncertain while he remains at the helm.
It is also worth noting that the absence of the Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman and Emirati President Mohamed bin Zayed from the Cairo Summit spoke volumes, infact, these countries are extremely reluctant to pour billions in Gaza without a clear Roadmap for security, peace and political reform, indeed is another drag on the plan’s feasibility.
Instead of the UN, Egypt should therefore build its plan around a leading role for the Trump administration. The US’s role should involve direct military deployment or could only provide diplomatic leadership and an operational and logistical support.
A coordinated US–Arab effort should also prepare the ground for the launch of peace negotiations between the Palestinian Authority and Israel that also involve an agreement on a long-term truce between Israel and Hamas.
To resolve the current “Empasse” attached to it’s proposal, Cairo should address several weaknesses also in tems of its security and governance making it, therefore, more palatable to the White House, Israel, Hamas, and Arab states.
