The United Nations has appointed Sigrid Kaag, the outgoing finance minister of the Netherlands, as the senior humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza. This decision was made as part of a U.N. Security Council resolution adopted on Friday, aimed at boosting humanitarian aid to the region.
Starting from January 8th, Kaag will be responsible for facilitating, coordinating, monitoring, and verifying humanitarian relief consignments for Gaza. In addition, she will establish a mechanism to accelerate aid into Gaza through countries not involved with the conflict.
Kaag is a veteran U.N. diplomat who previously headed an international team of weapons experts charged with overseeing the elimination of Syria's chemical stockpile.
In July, she revealed that she would leave the Netherlands' government because of the increasingly "toxic" environment for politicians in the Netherlands.
In a statement, U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said, "We look forward to coordinating closely with Kaag and the UN Office for Project Services on efforts to accelerate and streamline the delivery of life-saving humanitarian relief to Palestinian civilians in Gaza."
After a week of vote delays and intense negotiations to avoid a United States veto, Friday's Security Council resolution fell short of calling for a ceasefire.
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