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Former Ambassador David M. Satterfield has been appointed special envoy for humanitarian issues in the Middle East. In this role, he will focus on “ensuring life-saving assistance can reach vulnerable people across the Middle East,” the State Department announced Sunday.
Satterfield, a former U.S. ambassador to Turkey and director of the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University, “will lead U.S. diplomacy to urgently address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza,” the State Department said.
He has nearly 40 years of experience in the Middle East, with foreign service tours in Syria, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia and two tours in Lebanon. He also served as staff director of the National Security Council.
“Civilians should not have to suffer from the atrocities of Hamas,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in announcing Satterfield’s appointment during a visit to Cairo. “We are committed to doing everything we can to meet the needs of the people of Gaza.”
The appointment comes as Israel prepares to invade the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. Israel called on residents of the northern Gaza Strip to evacuate on Friday, causing hundreds of thousands of people to flee the region in buses, cars and on foot.
Israeli commanders have said they plan to invade Palestinian territory to end the militant group’s rule. Just over a week ago, Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel, killing more than 1,300 civilians and soldiers and taking scores hostage.
Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza could be a “bloodbath,” analysts say
In his new role, Satterfield will lead a campaign to “mitigate the humanitarian consequences of Hamas’ terrorist attack against Israel,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement. He added that Satterfield’s decades of experience working in the Middle East “will be critical to our continued efforts to address humanitarian issues in the region.”
The crisis in Gaza has worsened in recent days after Israel cut off electricity, fuel and other services. The United Nations and international human rights groups have warned that the directive to evacuate 1.1 million civilians was unworkable and would have devastating humanitarian consequences.
The US government negotiated a deal on Saturday allowing US citizens to leave Gaza and enter Egypt within a five-hour deadline, but even that attempt failed.
Blinken said Satterfield would arrive in the region on Monday to begin coordinating and “getting help to the people who need it and helping them get out of harm’s way.”
Satterfield served in a wide range of diplomatic roles at the State Department, including assistant secretary for Near Eastern Affairs and Iraq coordinator. He also worked on the 1995 roadmap for Israeli-Palestinian peace and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon in 2000, according to his biography from Rice University.
Karen DeYoung and John Hudson contributed to this report.