In October 2024, Major General Hassan Mahmoud Rashad was appointed Director of Egypt’s main intelligence apparatus, the General Intelligence Service (GIS), one of Egypt’s most powerful and highly guarded institutions, tasked with providing critical national security intelligence both domestically and internationally. Under his leadership, the GIS has played a key regional mediation role in 2026, focused on consolidating the Gaza ceasefire, advancing the U.S. peace plan, and managing security stability in neighbouring Libya.