December 18, 2025 | 05:35 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Wednesday that he has agreed to a $34.7 billion gas deal to supply natural gas to Egypt.
According to Al Arabiya, the deal involves American energy company Chevron, along with its partners in Israel, supplying gas to Egypt.
Describing it as the "largest ever" gas deal in Israel's history, Netanyahu stated that around 58 billion shekels from the deal will go into the state's treasury.
In a televised statement, he expressed hope that the deal would strengthen "Israel's status as a regional energy power and contribute to stability in our region."
Israel's Energy Minister Eli Cohen, speaking alongside Netanyahu, described the deal as a "historic moment" for Israel, both diplomatically and economically.
Cohen stated that the agreement was reached after several months of intensive negotiations, and gas companies are expected to invest more than 16 billion shekels in gas infrastructure based on the deal.
Israel has become a natural gas producer following the discovery of large offshore gas fields in the eastern Mediterranean Sea in the past decade, including the Tamar and Leviathan gas fields, which have transformed the country from an energy importer to a regional exporter.
US Pressure
The Trump administration has been pressuring Netanyahu in recent weeks to agree to the deal. As reported by Axios, this is part of efforts to improve relations with Egypt after the Israel-Gaza conflict.
The White House informed Netanyahu that they would try to help him arrange a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, but only if he agreed to the deal.
Netanyahu and Sisi have not spoken since the Israeli genocide in Gaza escalated, and relations between Israel and Egypt remain tense.
As part of the strategic natural gas deal, Israel will provide approximately 25 percent of Egypt's gas supply.
Sisi approved the plan in July despite criticism domestic and abroad, but the Israeli government delayed its implementation for five months.
"This is a huge opportunity for Israel. Selling gas to Egypt will create interdependence, get the countries closer together, create a warmer peace and prevent war," a US official told Axios last week.
Netanyahu reportedly wants to hold a trilateral meeting with Sisi and President Trump at the end of the month at Mar-a-Lago.
However, the Egyptian side is less enthusiastic about the idea of the meeting unless Israel takes further steps to implement the Gaza peace agreement.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinian are living in dire conditions after their homes were destroyed, displacing them within Gaza, despite the ceasefire reached on October 10. Many families take shelter in tents or temporary buildings, facing an acute shortage of blankets, heating supplies, and winter clothing as temperatures drop.
The Gaza government media office has repeatedly accused Israel of failing to fulfill its obligations under the October 10 ceasefire and its humanitarian protocol. Israel has blocked the entry of aid, including housing materials, and the delivery of 300,000 tents and mobile homes for refugee families.
Israel has killed nearly 70,700 people, mostly Palestinian women and children, and injured more than 171,100 others in attacks on Gaza since October 2023, before the ceasefire went into effect on October 10, 2025.
Read: Gaza Flood Deaths 'Utterly Preventable,' Amnesty Says
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