Egypt’s parliament authorised military support for Saudi Arabia on Monday, 26 October, as Houthi attacks on the kingdom intensified. The decision gives President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi parliamentary backing to provide defensive assistance.
Taher al-Khouly, deputy head of parliament’s legislative committee, told Reuters that any dispatch of Egyptian forces would be coordinated between the two countries and made at Saudi Arabia’s request. The authorisation does not itself establish that troops have arrived.
The vote followed closed-door deliberations that resumed on Monday after two meetings the previous week. Parliament Speaker Hisham Badawi chaired the proceedings, which concerned a request from the president to permit military assistance.
Earlier on Monday, Deputy Speaker Assem el-Gazzar said more than 100 lawmakers had spoken during the previous two sessions. He said the private discussions allowed members to receive sensitive strategic information and stressed Egypt’s continuing commitment to diplomacy.
The constitutional process requires consultation with the National Defence Council and approval by two-thirds of the House of Representatives before the president declares war or sends armed forces on combat missions abroad.
Egypt’s State Information Service had documented the council’s meeting on 18 October and parliament’s subsequent consideration of the request. The vote was postponed on 19 October, with deliberations scheduled to resume a week later.
El-Sisi said on 21 October that the proposed military role would defend Saudi territory and borders, excluding attacks on Yemen.
The parliamentary decision comes amid renewed hostilities involving Yemen’s Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition. Saudi authorities have reported drone and missile attacks on Riyadh and areas near the Yemeni border.
Yemen’s war escalated after the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, and other territory in 2014. A Saudi-led coalition intervened the following year in support of the internationally recognised government. A United Nations-brokered truce in April 2022 had brought a period of relative calm before the latest escalation.
Egypt’s authorisation advances the domestic approval process. The timing and composition of any deployment remain separate operational decisions.
Archival image: Egyptian Parliament building, 10 December 2025. Abdelrhman 1990 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0. Display resized. Not a photograph of Monday’s proceedings.
