By Hussien Elkabany and Mohammad Sio
ISTANBUL (AA) – Egypt and the US on Thursday jointly launched the “Bright Star” military exercises at Mohamed Naguib Military Base in western Egypt, with participation from 44 nations.
Egyptian army spokesman Gharib Abdel Hafez shared a video of the launch on the US social media platform Facebook, confirming the training will continue through Sept. 10.
Fourteen nations are taking part with more than 8,000 troops, while 30 others are participating as observers, according to the footage.
The US Defense Department’s official media service, DVIDS, published photos from the opening ceremony, showing military leaders from partner nations.
Army Chief of Staff Ahmed Khalifa inspected final preparations early Thursday, reviewing specialized training activities ahead of the full-scale drills, which the military described as “one of the largest joint exercises in the world.”
Countries contributing forces include Egypt, the US, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, India, Italy, Cyprus, Iraq, Greece, Yemen, Britain, Jordan, South Africa, and Kyrgyzstan.
Observer states include Uganda, Hungary, Tunisia, Japan, Poland, Oman, Burundi, Malaysia, Argentina, Spain, Kenya, Australia, and Indonesia, among others.
Egyptian police forces will also join the exercises, along with international organizations, including the Red Cross and NATO.
Bright Star is one of the world’s largest multinational exercises. It includes naval, ground, air and special forces training.
The exercises were first launched in 1980 after Egypt and Israel signed their peace treaty and became a regular biennial event starting in 1981. In 2018, nine countries participated, and 16 others joined as observers.
The 2021 edition included 21 nations after a one-year pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The last exercises took place from Aug. 31 to Sept. 14, 2023, with 34 participating countries.
The event comes amid Israeli plans to occupy Gaza City as part of a broader strategy to reoccupy the entire Gaza Strip. Gaza shares a border with the Sinai Peninsula in northeastern Egypt.
Israel has killed at least 63,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, which is facing famine.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.