Aftermath of Cairo bombing
Aftermath of Cairo bombingReuters

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Sunday called on Egypt to "fight terrorism together" after a bombing in a Coptic Christian church in Cairo killed 23 people and wounded 49.

"Israel condemns the reprehensible terrorist attack at the Coptic cathedral in Cairo," a statement from Netanyahu’s office said.

"Israel shares in the grief of the families of the victims and of the Egyptian people. We must unite forces and fight terrorism together," it added.

Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty in 1979 and reports in recent years have suggested that the two countries cooperate in the fight against Islamic State (ISIS) jihadists who have launched numerous attacks in the demilitarized Sinai Peninsula

In recent years, Israel has eased its adherence to the treaty's limits on forces permitted in the Sinai, allowing Egypt to send in troops as it fights the ongoing terrorist insurgency in the Peninsula.

In 2013, for instance, Egypt sent in more troops, with Israel's agreement, to cope with unrest after Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood was toppled as Egypt's president.

Last year it was reported that Egyptian Air Force planes had crossed into Israeli airspaces as part of Egypt's military campaign against the Sinai affiliate of ISIS.

Sunday's attack was the deadliest attack on Coptic Christians in Egypt since 2011, when more than 20 were killed outside a church in the northern coastal city of Alexandria.

Coptic Christians make up about 10 percent of Egypt's population and have been repeatedly targeted by jihadists.