On day five of the conflict in Gaza: Israel is continuing to flatten neighborhoods in Gaza and appears to be prepping a ground invasion; regional diplomatic initiatives aren’t yet bearing any fruit; and Chevron cut gas flows through the EMG pipeline (though there is an alternative). Meanwhile, bringing the violence to an end doesn’t seem to be high on Washington’s priority list, with President Joe Biden giving full-throated backing to Israel’s attack on Gaza and pledging more military aid.

MORE ENERGY DISRUPTION-

Key pipeline taken offline: Chevron has suspended gas exports to Egypt via the East Mediterranean Gas (EMG) pipeline and is routing supplies instead through the Arab Gas Pipeline that links Israel, Jordan and Egypt, according to a statement from the company picked up by Reuters and Bloomberg.

Egypt has lost access to gas from the Tamar field: Israel’s energy ministry instructed the US firm to halt production at the Tamar gas field on Monday due to security concerns caused by the ongoing conflict.

There was an immediate impact on Egypt’s gas supply: The closure of the field caused shipments of Israeli gas to fall to 650 mn cubic feet per day from 800 mn cf/d on Monday.

The closure of EMG could have completely killed Israeli gas flows to Egypt: The EMG pipeline transports gas from Israel’s other major field, Leviathan, to Egypt. Without the Arab Gas Pipeline, its closure would have brought all of Israel’s gas exports to Egypt to a halt.

Leviathan flows to Egypt are being reduced: Reuters reported that Israel is diverting some of the gas supplies destined for Egypt to its domestic market, citing industry sources.

What they’re saying: “Following the instruction by the Ministry of Energy to shut-in production at the Tamar production platform and the security situation in the south of Israel, all exports to Egypt have been re-routed via the FAJR pipeline,” Chevron said in the statement.

ON THE GROUND-

It’s looking like Israel will invade Gaza: Talk in the global media this morning is now about when — not if — Israel will launch a full-scale invasion of Gaza. Several outlets are now describing a ground offensive as “inevitable,” with the military massing tens of thousands of troops and government officials warning of a further escalation of violence. The military continued to bomb targets across the territory yesterday, flattening entire neighborhoods and killing hundreds of Palestinians. At least 900 Palestinians have died over the past four days and 4,600 are wounded. The death toll in Israel from Saturday’s attack by Hamas is now over 1k.

Tensions on the Egypt-Gaza border: Israeli air strikes and artillery have now targeted the Rafah crossing on the Sinai-Gaza border three times over the past two days, preventing Gazans from crossing the border and aid shipments from reaching the besieged strip of land. Egypt is pushing Israel to provide safe passage for civilians instead of encouraging them to flee to Sinai, Egyptian security forces told Reuters. An IDF spokesperson on Monday told refugees to flee across the border into Egypt, prompting an Egyptian official to warn Israel not to try and push Gazans into Egypt. The IDF has since retracted its recommendation.

Israel threatens to bomb Egyptian trucks: Any fuel trucks sent into Gaza by Egypt will be bombed by the Israeli military, Israeli media quoted an IDF spokesperson as saying yesterday. Israel has put Gaza under a total blockade, preventing any food, water and fuel from reaching the territory’s 2.2 mn residents.

Tensions are continuing to escalate in northern Israel: Clashes continued on the Israel-Lebanese border for a third day yesterday, while a Palestinian group also launched rockets into Israel from Syria.

MEANWHILE- Air Cairo has followed EgyptAir in suspending flights to Israel due to the ongoing conflict in Gaza, Asharq Business reported yesterday, citing what it said was an official source.

DIPLOMACY-

El Sisi weighs in: In a statement picked up by state news agency MENA, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi called the situation “highly dangerous” and confirmed that Egypt is working with other countries to broker an end to the violence.

Egypt and Qatar are at the forefront of the mediation efforts: El Sisi discussed de-escalation efforts with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in a phone conversation yesterday, according to an Ittihadiya readout. The two countries have previously helped broker ceasefire between Israel and Palestine after clashes in May. A senior US official said yesterday that Washington is encouraging Doha to use its relationship with Hamas to secure the release of hostages.

Egypt x Iran: Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry yesterday discussed the conflict with the foreign minister of Iran, which has been one of the most vocal supporters of Hamas’ attack on Israel. Shoukry also held phone calls with the foreign ministers of Greece, Tunisia, Portugal, Norway and Slovenia to discuss the latest on the Israel-Palestine conflict.

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