Sigrid Kaag, the United Nations humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for the Gaza Strip, has yet to move her residence and offices to the war-torn coastal enclave after promising to do so more than two months ago.
“The Office of the Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza is currently based in Amman, Jordan with an office in Gaza,” a spokesperson for Kaag’s office stated in response to a query by JNS.
Kaag “uses her extensive network to engage with key governments and other stakeholders at the highest political level” to coordinate aid and reconstruction efforts amid the war against Hamas, the statement said.
Kaag, in a June 11 interview from Jordan, had told the Netherlands’ NOS public broadcaster that she intended to rent an apartment and office space in Gaza, saying the move was scheduled for later that month.
“I believe you should always work from the field. You can’t just come up with good ideas from New York or the region,” said Kaag, who previously served as the Netherlands’ deputy prime minister.
In response to JNS’s request, Kaag’s spokesperson did not make clear whether the move was postponed or canceled, and for what reason.
In April, Kaag told the U.N. Security Council that her team has had “very constructive cooperation” in dialogue with the Israeli government.
Kaag, who previously served as the Dutch minister for foreign affairs, admitted to parliament in 2020 that her ministry had paid part of the salaries of two terrorists involved in the murder of an Israeli teenager.
Before joining the Dutch government in 2017, she served in multiple senior U.N. roles, including at the Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). She is married to Anis al-Qaq, a former Palestinian Authority official.
According to a poll published by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research on June 12, only 12% of Palestinians are satisfied with the United Nations’ role in the conflict. At the same time, approximately two-thirds of the Arab public continues to support Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre.
