Ex-ambassador named U.S. special envoy for Middle East Humanitarian Issues

Former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey David Satterfield will serve as the U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Humanitarian Issues, the White House announced Sunday.

In the new role, Satterfield will “focus on ensuring life-saving assistance can reach vulnerable people throughout the Middle East,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement.

Satterfield’s appointment comes as Israel prepares to launch a ground invasion into Gaza, more than a week after the surprise attack on Israel’s southern border.

The Oct. 7 incursion was led by Hamas militants in Gaza, who killed at least 1,300 Israelis and other nationals and abducted dozens more. Israel has already fired its own barrage of retaliatory missiles, killing more than 2,000 Palestinians.

The Israeli government has begun a siege of Gaza, restricting access to food and electricity for the more than 2 million residents of the region that’s long been blockaded on all sides by Israel and Egypt.

Satterfield previously served as the assistant secretary for the State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, as U.S. deputy chief of mission in Iraq and as U.S. ambassador to Lebanon.

“Ambassador Satterfield’s diplomatic experience and decades of work navigating the some of the world’s most challenging conflicts will be instrumental in our continued effort to address humanitarian issues in the region — a top priority for President Biden — including our efforts to bring urgently needed humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people, particularly in Gaza, in coordination with the U.N., Egypt, Jordan, Israel, and other regional stakeholders,” Sullivan said in the statement.