Ahmed Kamel – Egypt Daily News
Egyptian intelligence has reportedly uncovered Israeli plans to assassinate senior Hamas leaders residing in Cairo, prompting stern warnings from Cairo that any such action would be considered a violation of sovereignty and a declaration of war. This has added a new layer of tension to the already strained relations between Egypt and Israel, both of which have long played roles in regional diplomacy and conflict mediation.
According to senior Egyptian security sources, intelligence reports suggest that Israel has been planning to target Hamas leadership in Egypt for some time. One such attempt was allegedly foiled during ceasefire negotiations in Cairo over the past two years.
“Any attempt on the lives of Hamas leaders on Egyptian soil would be considered by Egypt as a violation of its sovereignty and, accordingly, a declaration of war by Israel, which we would not hesitate to retaliate against,” a high-level security official said.
The source emphasized that while Egypt is not aligned with Hamas politically and views the group through the lens of its connection to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood it remains adamant about preserving its sovereignty and regional status.
“Egypt sees itself as the most strategic Arab country. Any Israeli strike on its soil would jeopardize the regional status.
The warning comes just days after a controversial Israeli airstrike in Doha, the Qatari capital, targeted a meeting of Hamas political leaders. While senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya survived the strike, his son and four other members of the group were killed. A Qatari security personnel was also reported to have died in the attack.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later defended the operation and expanded his threats, vowing to strike Hamas officials abroad if they were not handed over by host countries. “I say to Qatar and all nations who harbour terrorists: you either expel them or you bring them to justice. Because if you don’t, we will,” Netanyahu said in a video statement.
He drew comparisons between Israel’s actions and the U.S. operation to kill Osama bin Laden, framing Israel’s ongoing campaign against Hamas as part of a global war on terrorism.
Qatar, which has served as a key mediator in ceasefire talks between Hamas and Israel since the Gaza war erupted in 2023, condemned the strike. Qatari officials said the presence of Hamas leaders in Doha was part of an arrangement encouraged by the U.S. and Israel themselves, designed to monitor and facilitate negotiations.
Netanyahu has also publicly acknowledged that Israel had previously encouraged Qatar to provide financial support to Hamas. According to him, this policy aimed to maintain the political division between Hamas in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, thereby preventing the formation of a unified Palestinian state.
In light of the Doha attack, Egyptian officials have reportedly reinforced their stance, urging Israel to return to ceasefire negotiations rather than escalating tensions through extrajudicial actions.
“Israeli–Egyptian relations have already been tense in recent months due to Tel Aviv’s reluctance to engage in serious talks over a Gaza truce,” a senior intelligence official noted. He added that direct communication between Cairo and Tel Aviv has broken down in recent weeks, with no progress reported in ceasefire discussions.
The situation is further complicated by the unclear status of Hamas figures allegedly residing in Egypt. While their presence has never been officially acknowledged, Egyptian sources confirmed that several senior Hamas members have been living in Cairo for some years, even before the latest round of conflict in Gaza. For security reasons, their identities and locations remain undisclosed.
A senior Egyptian military official clarified that Egypt had no prior knowledge of the Israeli strike in Doha and was not involved in any coordination with Israel or the United States. “No Israeli aircraft involved in the Doha attack crossed Egyptian airspace at all,” the official said. He also noted the presence of a Chinese-made air defense system deployed in the Sinai Peninsula, making unauthorized airspace breaches highly unlikely.
Beyond the immediate threat to its territorial sovereignty, Egypt is deeply concerned about being drawn into a broader conflict. The country has been particularly sensitive to any suggestion that Palestinians fleeing an Israeli ground assault in Gaza might be pushed into Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.
“Egypt is not defending Hamas. It views the group with suspicion,” said a regional security analyst who spoke on condition of anonymity. “But what’s at stake here is Egypt’s standing in the region. If Israel were allowed to carry out assassinations in Cairo unchecked, Egypt would lose the image of being a central, powerful player.”
He added, “Cairo has invested heavily in portraying itself as the stabilizers in the region. An Israeli strike in the capital would shatter that image and show the region that Egypt cannot even protect its own backyard.” However, the Egyptian army, the most powerful in the Middle East is more than capable of foiling such an attempt and can carry the fight into Israel’s territory.
Egypt was the first Arab nation to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, a landmark accord brokered by the United States. Despite formal ties, relations between the two countries have often been fraught with mutual distrust, and the Egyptian public has remained largely opposed to normalization with Israel.
The region appears to be inching closer to a broader diplomatic crisis one that could see long-standing alliances tested and Egypt’s role in the Arab world redefined.
