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It has been almost three years since Hamas kicked off a regional war when its cadres and members of other Palestinian extremist groups slaughtered about 1,200 Israelis. In the endless Middle East news cycles since, there has been extensive coverage of Gaza, Israel, Hamas, Lebanon, Hezbollah, Syria, Qatar, Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the Houthis, but very little about Egypt. In some ways, it is curious, because Egypt is the most populous Arab country, boasts the region’s biggest military, and is supposed to be the most influential state among members of the Arab League. In other ways, Egypt’s practical invisibility in the past few years makes sense. Egypt is far afield from the region’s battle zones—except for the Gaza Strip—and in the power shift underway in the region, influence has moved eastward from Cairo, Damascus, and Baghdad to Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, and Doha.

That does not mean that Egypt has been able to sit out the wars entirely. As these conflicts have dragged on, events have forced President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi into awkward strategic positions and ungainly diplomatic postures. Yet it is not at all clear that this is the result of ineptitude. Egypt is maneuvering between competing and contradictory demands.

It has been almost three years since Hamas kicked off a regional war when its cadres and members of other Palestinian extremist groups slaughtered about 1,200 Israelis. In the endless Middle East news cycles since, there has been extensive coverage of Gaza, Israel, Hamas, Lebanon, Hezbollah, Syria, Qatar, Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the Houthis, but very little about Egypt. In some ways, it is curious, because Egypt is the most populous Arab country, boasts the region’s biggest military, and is supposed to be the most influential state among members of the Arab League. In other ways, Egypt’s practical invisibility in the past few years makes sense. Egypt is far afield from the region’s battle zones—except for the Gaza Strip—and in the power shift underway in the region, influence has moved eastward from Cairo, Damascus, and Baghdad to Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, and Doha.

That does not mean that Egypt has been able to sit out the wars entirely. As these........

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