_: The United Nations named an outgoing Dutch minister its humanitarian coordinator for Gaza on Tuesday following last week’s watered-down Security Council resolution which called for aid to be delivered to the strip “at scale.”
Sigrid Kaag’s appointment comes as the people of Gaza face a dire humanitarian emergency, with aid slowed to a trickle by Israel’s continued bombardment of the densely populated coastal strip.
She will start work on January 8, the UN said in a statement.
Last week’s UN Security Council resolution called for the “safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance at scale” — but did not call for an immediate end to fighting.
“United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres today announced the appointment of Ms Sigrid Kaag of the Netherlands as Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza,” the UN said in a statement.
The United States welcomed the appointment and said it looks forward to coordination “on efforts to accelerate and streamline the delivery of
life-saving humanitarian relief to Palestinian civilians in Gaza,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.