Hassan Rashad

Hassan Rashad
Director of the General Intelligence Service
Incumbent
Assumed office
16 October 2024
PresidentAbdel Fattah el-Sisi
Preceded byAbbas Kamel
Personal details
BornHassan Mahmoud Rashad
1967 (age 58–59)
Cairo, Egypt
SpouseMarwa Taalab
RelationsYusuf Sibai (grandfather)
Military service
Allegiance Egypt
Branch/serviceEgyptian Armed Forces
Years of service
1990s–present
RankMajor general

Hassan Rashad (Arabic: حسن رشاد; born 1967) is an Egyptian military officer who has served as director of the General Intelligence Service (GIS), Egypt's main intelligence apparatus, since October 2024.

Early life and education

Rashad was born in Cairo in 1967. His father is a major general from Damietta,[1] and grandfather was Yusuf Sibai, a writer and politician who was assassinated in 1978. Rashad attended the Military Technical College, graduating in 1990 with the rank of first lieutenant and bachelor's degrees in engineering and military science.[2][3][4]

Career

Rashad joined the General Intelligence Service (GIS) in the early 1990s. He was eventually promoted to deputy of then-director Abbas Kamel, who took office in 2018.[5] During his career, he handled the Iran file for seven years, during a time where Iranian influence in the region was escalating. He also oversaw cyber insurance for government and finance institutions.[6]

Director of the General Intelligence Service

On 16 October 2024, Rashad was appointed director of the GIS, taking the oath of office in front of president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.[7] He became in charge of several notable files, namely Gaza, Libya, Ethiopia, and Sudan.[2]

Gaza

In the Gaza file, he has maintained indirect contact between Israel and Palestinian factions to facilitate negotiations over ceasefires, prisoner exchanges, and the delivery of humanitarian aid.[2] On 21 October 2025, he met Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, where they discussed humanitarian aid and the implementation of the US president Donald Trump-brokered Gaza peace plan.[8] He became the first senior Egyptian official to travel to Israel since the Gaza war broke out in 2023.[2] In January 2026, he was named a member of the Gaza Executive Board, which was established by the Board of Peace to support a technocratic committee assigned to govern post-war Gaza.[9] On 30 June, he met with Turkish National Intelligence Organization chief İbrahim Kalın in Ankara, where they discussed the implementation of the ceasefire's second phase amid violations by Israel.[10] They later held a joint meeting with senior Hamas leaders, including Khaled Mashal, Khalil al-Hayya, and Mohammad Hassan.[11] On 16 August, he received al-Hayya in El Alamein to discuss the implementation of the peace plan.[12]

Elsewhere

On 8 April 2025, he traveled to Port Sudan and met with Sudanese Armed Forces chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, where they focused on expanding bilateral relations and cooperation.[13] In October, he met with Lebanese president Joseph Aoun in Beirut, where he expressed his country's willingness to help stabilize southern Lebanon, which has been the target of Israeli airstrikes due to the Hezbollah–Israel conflict. They also discussed Lebanon's participation in the Gaza peace summit and the ceasefire in Gaza.[14] It was later reported that he delivered an initiative which would see a three-month ceasefire where Israel would halt its strikes and release detainees in exchange for Hezbollah's withdrawal from southern Lebanon. The deal would have also seen a gradual Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon as a solution to Hezbollah’s weapons north of the Litani River was implemented.[15]

On 24 January 2026, Rashad again met al-Burhan in Port Sudan.[16] The following month, he led a delegation to Benghazi, where they met Libyan National Army commander Khalifa Haftar, a move seen as an attempt to strengthen relations with eastern Libya.[17] In June, he traveled to Tripoli, where he met Libyan prime minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh.[18] During the meeting, he delivered greetings from el-Sisi and reiterated Egypt's commitment to expanding cooperation between the two countries.[19] On 13 August, he met Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan in El Alamein.[20]

Personal life

Rashad is married to Marwa Taalab, the daughter of former deputy interior minister Mohamed Taalab. He is fluent in Arabic and English.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 "Hassan Rashad: Mystery Man Leading Egyptian Intelligence". Grey Dynamics. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "حسن رشاد.. رئيس المخابرات المصرية الذي صعد من "الظل" إلى واجهة ترتيبات ما بعد الحرب في غزة". Al Araby (in Arabic). 18 January 2026. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  3. ↑ "Appointment of Major General Hassan Mahmoud Rashad as Head of General Intelligence". EMPC News. 16 October 2024. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  4. ↑ "حسن محمود رشاد "مَن هو رئيس المخابرات العامة الجديد؟"". الحكاية. 2024-10-16. Retrieved 2026-08-17.
  5. ↑ "Egypt's Sisi appoints new chief of powerful intelligence agency". Al-Monitor. Retrieved 2026-08-17.
  6. ↑ "حسن رشاد.. رجل المهمات الصعبة في المخابرات المصرية – الشرق الأدنى للدراسات الإعلامية (NEC)" (in Arabic). Retrieved 2026-08-17.
  7. ↑ "Egypt's Sisi Replaces Head of General Intelligence Agency". Asharq al-Awsat. Retrieved 2026-08-17.
  8. ↑ "Benjamin Netanyahu meets Egypt's intelligence chief in Israel in Gaza talks". The Jerusalem Post. 2025-10-21. Retrieved 2026-08-17.
  9. ↑ "Egypt's intelligence chief on Gaza Executive Board: Who else is on the panel". EgyptToday. 2026-01-17. Retrieved 2026-08-17.
  10. ↑ "Turkish intelligence chief meets Egyptian counterpart in Ankara". TRT World. Retrieved 2026-08-17.
  11. ↑ "Egyptian, Turkish intelligence chiefs meet Hamas leaders to advance Trump peace plan". EgyptToday. 2026-06-30. Retrieved 2026-08-17.
  12. ↑ "Kushner meets Hamas chief in Egypt in push for Gaza disarmament; IDF continues strikes". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2026-08-17.
  13. ↑ "Egypt intelligence chief meets Sudan sovereign council head in Port Sudan". Ahram Online. Retrieved 2026-08-17.
  14. ↑ "Egypt's intelligence chief makes surprise visit to Lebanon amid tension with Israel". The New Arab. 28 October 2025. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  15. ↑ "Egyptian initiative leaked as Lebanon agrees to civilians in negotiations". Naharnet. Retrieved 2026-08-17.
  16. ↑ "Sudan's army chief meets Egyptian intelligence head to discuss security, aid". Sudan Tribune. 2026-01-24. Retrieved 2026-08-17.
  17. ↑ "Egypt deepens security, political coordination with Eastern Libya". The Arab Weekly. 17 February 2026. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  18. ↑ "تنسيق إقليمي وملفات ساخنة.. ماذا تعني زيارة رئيس المخابرات المصرية إلى طرابلس؟". Al Jazeera Arabic (in Arabic). Retrieved 2026-08-17.
  19. ↑ Ragas, Mowafag (2026-06-21). "Dbeibah and Rashad Discuss Strengthening Libyan-Egyptian Cooperation and Supporting the Political Process in Tripoli". Libya Update News. Retrieved 2026-08-17.
  20. ↑ "Turkish foreign minister meets Arab League secretary-general in Egypt". Middle East Monitor. 2026-08-13. Retrieved 2026-08-17.
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