For the first time, a woman became the head of the British intelligence service MI6

Blaze Maitrev has assumed the post of head of the British intelligence service MI6, becoming the first woman and the youngest head. She replaced Richard Moore, an experienced diplomat and spy with deep connections in the Middle East. This was reported on October 2 by The Times newspaper.

According to a former colleague, the new leader's priority will be to restore Britain's influence in the situation in the Middle East, especially in the conflict between Israel and Gaza.

"For those who know her, her real career anchor was in the Middle East. I think she will be much more focused on all this," he said.

Maitrev speaks Arabic, spent part of her childhood in Saudi Arabia, and spent her career on business trips in the Middle East. She intends to strengthen her work on intelligence diplomacy, tracking radical individuals and threats from groups such as Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, as well as focus on gathering information about a possible cease-fire between Israel and the radical Palestinian movement Hamas.

"I would think that's the key goal at the moment," the former colleague added.

Government response: Great Britain, Canada and Australia recognized Palestine

Why did the G7 countries take this step, and how will it affect the war in the Gaza Strip

Earlier, on September 29, it was reported that more than 800,000 people had fled Gaza City since the start of the Israeli army's ground offensive. The IDF estimates that between 30 and 50 thousand people left the city every day last week, while about 250-350 thousand Palestinians still remained in Gaza.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.