Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi appointed a new Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces on Wednesday after the defense portfolio was transferred to the new government amid escalating tensions with Israel in light of the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip on Egypt’s eastern border.

Lieutenant General Ahmed Fathi Khalifa succeeds Lieutenant General Osama Askar, who has served as Chief of Staff since 2021. Askar was appointed as an advisor to the President of the Republic for military affairs, according to what was stated by the spokesman for the Presidency of the Republic. 

Mr. President issues a decision appointing Lieutenant General Ahmed Fathi Ibrahim Khalifa as Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces

Lieutenant General Abdel Majeed Saqr, the former governor of Suez Governorate, a strategic governorate in northeastern Egypt, assumed the defense portfolio.

Sisi appointed former Defense Minister Lieutenant General Mohamed Ahmed Zaki Mohamed, who has held the position since 2018, as Assistant to the President for Defense Affairs.

The previous government resigned a month ago after the start of Sisi's third term in April. Sisi reappointed Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, and the new government was sworn in on Wednesday.

The Presidency of the Republic stated last month that the tasks of the new government include preserving Egyptian national security and combating terrorism.