The United Nations appointed Dutch politician Sigrid Kaag as the aid coordinator for Gaza on Tuesday. The UN stated that Kaag will serve as the coordinator for humanitarian affairs and reconstruction in Gaza, with her role commencing on January 8. She will "facilitate, coordinate, monitor, and verify humanitarian relief shipments to Gaza," and will establish a "mechanism" to expedite the delivery of aid to Gaza through countries not involved in the conflict.
Kaag previously served as the Minister of Finance in the Netherlands, becoming the first woman to hold this position in a country that is among the leading advocates for fiscal austerity in Europe. The 60-year-old former diplomat replaced Wopke Hoekstra, a prominent supporter of financial discipline, whose Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party fell to fourth place in the recent elections behind the far-right opposition party PVV. Kaag had previously resigned from her briefly held position as Minister of Foreign Affairs due to the government's handling of the evacuation crisis of citizens from Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover of Kabul, and she has also held the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Development.
