Since the Hamas attack on October 7, the American forces overseeing the peace agreement between Israel and Egypt have stopped conducting reconnaissance flights over Sinai or inspecting the tunnels in the area, Yisrael Hayom reported.

The issue only began to be seriously addressed with the start of the Trump administration, but as far as is known, there are still no results.

According to the peace agreement signed between Israel and Egypt in 1979, the United States guarantees that both sides adhere to the peace agreement, and in particular the security annex attached to it. This annex precisely defines the amout of the Egyptian forces allowed to be stationed in Sinai and in what location. A mechanism was also established at the time to allow for changes to the composition of these forces in coordination between the countries and with Israeli approval.

To ensure that the agreement and the security annex are maintained, the United States led the establishment of a “Multinational Force and Observers” (MFO), which patrols throughout Sinai and even uses reconnaissance flights over the Sinai. However, for an unclear reason, these flights ceased with the outbreak of the war and have not been resumed to this day.

Israel has repeatedly appealed to the Biden administration and the Trump administration, demanding that the United States fulfill its obligations under the agreement and resume the flights. The efforts vis-à-vis the previous administration were led by the former ambassador in Washington, Michael (Mike) Herzog. However, a source familiar with the details told Yisrael Hayom that senior officials in the previous administration ignored it. “Their answer was that more aid should be brought into Gaza,” he said.

Another supervisory activity that the Multinational Force has stopped carrying out is the inspection of activities in the tunnels that Egypt built throughout Sinai. An Israeli official revealed in this context that Egypt rejected the inspectors’ requests to examine the systems being built in the tunnels. The need for such inspections became urgent after it was assessed that they could contain large quantities of weaponry. Israel is very concerned about Egyptian activity in this area.

Israel raised the issue again immediately upon the entry of President Trump and his administration into the White House. Prime Minister Netanyahu discussed the issue with Secretary of State Marco Rubio when he visited Israel in February. Since then, there have been additional appeals.

The Trump administration did take up the gauntlet and is demanding that the Egyptians renew the oversight work as required. A source who spoke with Israel on the matter said that “when the Americans take something seriously, others in the world do too.” However, an examination by Yisrael Hayom with several sources reveals that despite the appeals of the Trump administration, the flights over Sinai have not been renewed to this day, and the international inspectors have not been allowed to enter the tunnels.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)