Sigrid Kaag named UN humanitarian coordinator for Gaza

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced Tuesday the appointment of Sigrid Kaag as senior humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza.

"In this role, she will facilitate, coordinate, monitor, and verify humanitarian relief consignments to Gaza," the UN said in a statement.

The former Dutch minister will also establish a UN mechanism to accelerate humanitarian relief consignments to Gaza through states that are not party to the conflict.

Kaag is expected to begin Jan. 8, said the statement.

The assignment comes as part of a Security Council resolution that was adopted last week to step up humanitarian aid to the Palestinian enclave.

The Council passed the resolution Friday that calls for "urgent steps" to immediately allow "safe, unhindered, and expanded" humanitarian access to Gaza amid the ongoing Israeli offensive on the territory.

It demands parties to the conflict allow and facilitate the use of all available routes to and throughout the entire Strip, including border crossings, to ensure humanitarian personnel and assistance reach the civilian population in need.

In response to a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, Israel launched air and ground attacks on the coastal territory and has since killed at least 20,915 people, most being women and children.

The onslaught has left Gaza in ruins, with 60% of the enclave's infrastructure damaged or destroyed and nearly 2 million residents displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine.

Tel Aviv has vowed to destroy the Palestinian resistance group and ensure the release of all hostages taken in the October attack. Some of the hostages were released after a temporary truce in November in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.