David Satterfield to step down as US envoy for Gaza aid
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The envoy is leaving his position due to legislation requiring that special envoys get Senate approval after 180 days.
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US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State David Satterfield at a meeting with former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, in Beirut, Lebanon, May 14, 2019. (AP)
The Biden administration's top official of humanitarian issues in Gaza will leave his position at the end of this week.
According to two individuals familiar with the arrangement, David Satterfield will continue to serve as a senior advisor.
On October 15, 2023, Satterfield assumed the role of special envoy, tasked with guiding US diplomacy to promptly tackle the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, as stated by the US State Department upon his appointment.
Lise Grande, president and CEO of the US Institute of Peace in Washington, will succeed Satterfield. Grande oversaw the United Nations' humanitarian operations in Yemen and served as deputy head of the UN's political mission in Iraq during the war on ISIS.
The Huffington Post reported in January that Satterfield may leave his post, noting that his three-month tenure had faced substantial criticism.
The diplomat had earlier proposed forcing Gaza Strip residents into Egypt, a suggestion met with significant opposition and subsequently disowned by US authorities. Furthermore, the humanitarian conditions for Gaza residents reportedly worsened during Satterfield's tenure in office.
According to a source, the envoy is leaving his position due to legislation requiring that special envoys get Senate approval after 180 days.
Satterfield recently told reporters that the amount of aid entering Gaza has allegedly grown dramatically but cited that "much more aid is needed."
Unsubstantiated Israeli accusations regarding UNRWA's connections to Hamas and PIJ (Palestinian Islamic Jihad) prompted major donors to withdraw $450 million in funding from the primary humanitarian agency operating in Gaza, exacerbating an already dire situation where many were facing mortality, a recent analysis by The Guardian's World Affairs Editor, Julian Borger highlighted.
Three months later, the situation deteriorated further, with the emergence of an Israeli-made famine alongside relentless Israeli bombings, healthcare system collapse, water scarcity, and increased epidemics.
Israeli war on Gaza created ‘humanitarian hellscape’: Guterres
On his part, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recently called Gaza a "humanitarian hellscape" and expressed that more needs to be done to allow aid into Gaza through "Israel's full and active facilitation of humanitarian operations."
41% of UN-coordinated aid missions to northern Gaza between 6 and 12 April were "impeded or denied access" by "Israel", the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) posted on X on April 14.
