The 11-day Gaza war last May “allowed Egypt to once again market itself as an indispensable security partner for Israel in the region — which it is — which in turn makes it an indispensable security partner for the U.S.,” said Hafsa Halawa, an expert on Egypt at the Middle East Institute, a Washington think tank.
“Gaza is a reminder to everybody, effectively, that you can’t really do anything without Egypt,” she said.