Egypt - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Egypt cover image

Egypt

October 24, 2026

Cairo 10:33 pm

23°C

Fidan

Analysis

What's at stake as Libya's eastern parliament approves Turkey maritime deal

Libya's eastern-based parliament's approval of a long-disputed maritime deal with Turkey marks a strategic win for Ankara as Saddam Hifter seeks Turkish backing for his presidential ambitions, according to analysts.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi attends a joint statements and agreements during the EU and Egypt summit in Brussels, on Oct. 22, 2025.

Sisi says Egypt has no ‘territorial ambitions’ after Israel’s Smotrich threatens Sinai

The Egyptian president’s remarks follow a warning from Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich that Israel would seize the Sinai Peninsula if Egypt attacks.

China's President Xi Jinping (center L) walks along with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi followed by their wives Peng Liyuan and Entissar Amer (R) upon their arrival at the Cairo International Airport on September 1, 2026. President Xi Jinping arrived in Egypt on September 1, making a rare trip to the Middle East as both countries face the threat of US sanctions over financial links to Iran. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Why renewed Egypt-Ethiopia tensions are a problem for China

For Beijing, the renewed Egypt-Ethiopia standoff is a zero-sum bind that threatens vital strategic interests on both sides of the Nile.

Joyce Karam

A quadrilateral summit was held on Oct. 4, 2026, attended by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al‑Sisi, Eritrea President Isaias Afwerki, President of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, and Chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council of Sudan Gen. Abdel Fattah al‑Burhan, in New El Alamein City, Egypt.

Egypt, Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan hold summit amid Ethiopia tensions

All four countries have increasingly tense relations with Ethiopia, driven by disputes over the Nile, Red Sea access and security.

Latest News

Explainer

Why are Egypt and Ethiopia clashing over Tigray, Somalia and the Nile?

This general view shows the site of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in Guba, Ethiopia, on February 19, 2022. - Ethiopia's massive hydro-electric dam project on a tributary of the Nile has raised regional tensions notably with Egypt, which depends on the huge river for 97 percent of its water supply. Government officials said the dam would begin producing electricity on Sunday, more than a decade since work first started. (Photo by Amanuel SILESHI / AFP) (Photo by AMANUEL SILESHI/AFP via Getty Ima

Ex-Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar to sue Netanyahu over Oct. 7 accusations: What to know

Ronen Bar, former chief of Israel's domestic Shin Bet security agency

On secret UAE visit, Netanyahu asked MBZ to deny pre-Oct. 7 warnings

Israeli PM

20 Israelis stranded in Ethiopia seek evacuation as fighting resumes: What to know

A general view of the damaged building housing Tigray TV, the state broadcaster of the Tigray region, following a drone strike in Mekelle, Ethiopia, Sept. 27, 2026.

Beatrice Farhat

Associate Editor (Lebanon)

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Jonathan Fenton-Harvey

In London, reporting on North Africa and Gulf politics

Mohammed Magdy

In Berlin, reporting on Egyptian politics

Ayah Aman

In Cairo, reporting on politics and culture

Salwa Samir

In Giza, reporting on politics

Nada Shaker

In Cairo, reporting on culture

Leader of Egypt's winning party outlines what's next

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Free Egyptians Party's acting President Essam Khalil discusses the party’s plan following its victory in the first and second stages of the parliamentary elections.

Senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh (R) speaks with Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah at Haniyeh's house in Gaza City October 9, 2014. Hamdallah arrived in the Hamas-dominated Gaza Strip on Thursday and convened the first meeting of a unity government there since a brief civil war in 2007 between Hamas and forces loyal to the Fatah party. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR49J4R

Will Fatah, Hamas take Egypt's road to unity?

Hamadeh Faraneh, a PNC and PCC member, revealed an Egyptian plan to achieve Palestinian unity between Fatah and Hamas, among other goals, and talks details about this in an interview with Al-Monitor.

Coptic Pope's Jerusalem visit sparks backlash in Egypt

The Coptic Church confirmed that its position regarding the ban on Copts visiting Jerusalem is unchanged, despite the travel of Pope Tawadros II to the city to attend the funeral of Bishop Anba Abraham.

Why Cairo should devalue the Egyptian pound

Recent devaluations of the Egyptian pound are making importers, contractors, consumers and the government nervous, but this may be what Egypt needs to become a more competitive exporter of products and services.

A street vendor walks under election campaign banners in downtown Cairo, ahead of the second round of parliamentary election, November 19, 2015. Official results showed a political alliance loyal to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has scooped all 60 list seats up for grabs in the first round of a parliamentary election in which opposition parties were all but absent. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany - RTS7XID

Sisi supporters secure second-round elections victory

An overview of Egypt's upcoming parliamentary runoff elections and results.

Are Egypt’s poor paying the price for Cairo development project?

Hundreds of riverboat owners and crew members have been rendered jobless during a project to regenerate downtown Cairo, but officials say the situation is temporary.

How one Egyptian beauty queen lost her citizenship

The Egyptian minister of interior’s decision to withdraw citizenship from Naglaa Ahmad Abdel Ati Suleiman, who also holds Israeli citizenship, stirred mixed reactions in Egypt.

Will natural gas cartel be successful in setting LNG, CNG prices?

Key heads of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum member states gather in Iran to push for new global energy market.

A Palestinian woman sits in front of the gate of Rafah border crossing as she waits for a travel permit to cross into Egypt, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip June 14, 2015. Egypt opened the Rafah border crossing on Saturday to allow Palestinians to travel in and out of the Gaza Strip for the first time in three months, in a possible sign of easing tension between Cairo and Gaza's dominant Islamist Hamas movement. Gaza, a small impoverished coastal enclave, is under blockade by neighbouring Israel, and Eg

Egypt announces deal to reopen Rafah crossing, but when will it actually open?

Despite the fact that opening the Rafah crossing is an urgent humanitarian need for Gaza residents, it remains subject to political considerations associated with the quarreling factions: Hamas and Fatah.

Egypt is now publishing Friday sermons in English, but is anyone reading them?

The Egyptian Ministry of Awqaf has recently launched an English version of its official Friday sermon, although accessing it might be impossible for those who don’t read Arabic.

Palestinian security forces participate in a parade during a celebration of the 40th anniversary of the al-Karamah battle, in the West Bank city of Hebron, March 22, 2008. The Al-Karamah battle was fought between PLO (Palestinian liberation Organization) fighters and the Jordanian Army against the Israeli Army in 1968. REUTERS/Nayef Hashlamoun (WEST BANK) - RTR1YN6M

In quest for statehood, Palestinians prepare security plans

Preparing for statehood, Palestinian officials presented detailed security plans and strategies to retired American Gen. John Allen when he came for security talks in 2013-2014 as part of the Kerry peace talks.

The declining relationship between Hamas, Egypt

Many issues are adding fuel to the fiery relations between Hamas and Egypt.