Egypt seals record $35B gas deal with Israel, amid Israel’s ongoing genocide of Palestinians
Agreement triples gas imports from Leviathan field as Egypt faces mounting energy shortfalls and public discontent over Gaza siege allegations
CAIRO, Egypt (MNTV) – Egypt has signed a landmark $35 billion natural gas agreement with Israel, nearly tripling its imports from the offshore Leviathan field and marking the largest export deal in Israel’s history.
Announced by Israeli energy company NewMed, the deal will see 130 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas supplied to Egypt through 2040.
NewMed, which owns 45.34% of the Leviathan reservoir alongside Ratio and Chevron, said the agreement builds on a 2018 deal that delivered 4.5 bcm annually but has faced repeated disruptions since Israel’s genocide in Gaza began in October 2023.
The expansion comes as Egypt struggles with declining domestic gas production, rolling summer blackouts, and surging liquefied natural gas (LNG) import costs—projected to hit $19 billion this year, up from $12 billion in 2024.
Israel currently meets 15-20% of Egypt’s gas needs, according to the Joint Organizations Data Initiative.
While NewMed CEO Yossi Abu called the arrangement a “win-win” that would save Egypt money compared to LNG imports, local media outlet Mada Masr reported Cairo will pay about $35 million more per bcm—an increase of 14.8% over previous rates.
Sources told the outlet Egypt accepted the higher price, as Israeli gas remains its cheapest available option.
The first stage of the deal, delivering 20 bcm from early 2026, depends on completing a new pipeline to Leviathan and expanding an existing link between Ashdod and Ashkelon—projects delayed by the Gaza conflict.
The second stage, involving the remaining 110 bcm, requires building new export infrastructure, including an onshore pipeline to the Nitzana border crossing, which has yet to begin. NewMed cautioned there is “no assurance” these conditions will be met.
The agreement has stirred public anger amid accusations that Cairo is complicit in Israel’s siege on Gaza, where nearly 200 Palestinians have reportedly died from starvation.
Protests erupted last month, including demonstrations outside Egyptian embassies in Europe and a symbolic gate-locking protest in the Netherlands. Two men who stormed a Cairo police station in July over Egypt’s closure of the Rafah crossing were subsequently detained and disappeared.
President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has rejected the allegations, denouncing them as “strange talk” and accusing the international community of failing to address humanitarian crises during a summit in Cairo earlier this week.
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