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. 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). The SIS statement also addressed the war next door. 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.