{"id":16721,"date":"2026-03-03T22:25:23","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T20:25:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/?p=16721"},"modified":"2026-10-24T14:56:24","modified_gmt":"2026-10-24T12:56:24","slug":"gaz-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/gaz-5\/","title":{"rendered":"How Is Cairo Responding to the Suspension of Israeli Gas Supplies?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Following the US\u2013Israeli strikes on Iran last Saturday, the Tel Aviv government <\/span>announced<\/span><\/a> the suspension of natural gas exports to Egypt indefinitely, on the grounds that operations were impossible as a result of the current war. This led to the <\/span>halt<\/span><\/a> of about 1.1 billion cubic feet per day that were being pumped to Egypt, which represents a large share of Cairo’s gas imports through the pipeline coming from Israel.<\/span><\/p>\n

This decision comes only about two and a half months after the announcement<\/a> of a huge agreement between Cairo and Tel Aviv for the export of natural gas, valued at about $35 billion, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as “the largest gas deal in Israel’s history”.<\/p>\n

The agreement<\/a>, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ratified last December and which came into force at the start of the new year 2026, was scheduled to run until 2040, and includes the supply of about 130 billion cubic metres of gas from the Leviathan field in the eastern Mediterranean.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It is the agreement that provoked a state of <\/span>controversy<\/span><\/a> and criticism inside Egypt, particularly as it came in the wake of the war Israel waged on Gaza after 7 October 2023, which lasted nearly two years and <\/span>resulted<\/span><\/a> in tens of thousands of people killed and hundreds of thousands injured, according to estimates by official and rights bodies.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the other hand, <\/span>Reuters <\/span><\/a>news agency considered that the agreement provided relief for the energy crisis Egypt has faced for two years, after it was forced to spend billions of dollars on importing shipments of liquefied natural gas to compensate for the shortfall of domestic production in meeting rising demand, particularly during summer peak periods.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, the suspension of gas exports “indefinitely”, according to the Israeli statements, opens the door to questions about the domestic market’s ability to absorb a prolonged halt in exports, in addition to the nature of the scenarios for managing domestic demand in the coming months, especially if a prolonged crisis coincides with peak consumption in the summer season. This may bring back to the fore options such as rationing consumption ( <\/span>load-shedding<\/span><\/a>), which<\/span> caused<\/span><\/a> power cuts in a large number of neighbourhoods and areas in Egypt, as well as rearranging supply priorities among the different sectors, until the course of regional developments becomes clear.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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