Israeli offshore natural gas fields restarted operations on June 25, after going offline for nearly two weeks as its war with Iran raged earlier in the month. The resumption of gas production was welcome news for energy-hungry Egypt, which has become heavily reliant on Israeli gas to help keep the lights on. 

The North African country took a big hit from the war. Israel shut down its largest gas field, Leviathan, on June 13, shortly after launching strikes against Iran that day. As of early 2025, pipeline flows from Leviathan accounted for roughly 60% of Egypt’s gas imports, according to data from the Joint Organisations Data Initiative.

In response, Cairo reportedly cut supplies to certain industries as it scrambled to avoid power shortages. Although the immediate threat has receded following a ceasefire announced June 23, the episode laid bare Egypt’s broader energy vulnerabilities, a little over a year after it secured a $57 billion global bailout led by the United Arab Emirates.

The Israel-Iran war rattled markets across the Middle East, but Egypt ranked among the most exposed to economic aftershocks. In the week after hostilities erupted, the Egyptian pound weakened up to 3% against the US dollar, and the benchmark EGX30 stock index plunged as much as 7%, a slide far greater than regional peers.