Egypt's Sisi names new spy chief amid stalled Gaza talks

Key regional mediator Egypt has replaced the head of its powerful state intelligence agency, local media reported, putting new chief Hassan Rashad at the helm of stalled Gaza talks.

Abbas Kamel, a close ally of president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his former chief of staff, had held the post since 2018.

Kamel will now take up a post of presidential advisor and envoy, as well as general coordinator of security services, according to state-aligned media Extra News.

The switch-up comes as Egypt finds itself surrounded by regional conflict.

For over a year, it has failed alongside fellow mediators Qatar and the US to achieve a ceasefire in the war in Gaza, which has since spread into Lebanon.

On Egypt's southern border, eighteen months of war between Sudan's regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have killed tens of thousands and caused the world's largest displacement crisis, pushing over 400,000 refugees into Egypt.

And further south in the Horn of Africa, Egypt is locked in a rivalry with Ethiopia that analysts say is dramatically redrawing regional alliances.

Rashad formerly served as Kamel's deputy, according to Extra News, one of several media outlets owned by a conglomerate with links to state intelligence that has in recent years established a grip on Egyptian media.