Gaza’s Intensifying Humanitarian Catastrophe

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The Middle East Program in Washington combines in-depth regional knowledge with incisive comparative analysis to provide deeply informed recommendations. With expertise in the Gulf, North Africa, Iran, and Israel/Palestine, we examine crosscutting themes of political, economic, and social change in both English and Arabic.

Gaza’s health crisis grows more dire. Despite the successful first round of polio vaccinations and a short-lived surge of humanitarian aid preventing an imminent decline into famine in May, the conditions in Gaza have deteriorated significantly in recent months.

What are the key factors currently driving the spiraling humanitarian crisis? How have recent changes in IDF operations, crossing points, truck access, and other factors impacted humanitarian efforts in Gaza? What role is growing lawlessness in the embattled enclave playing and what additional steps can be taken to protect convoys?

Join Katherine Wilkens, a nonresident scholar in Carnegie’s Middle East program, as she moderates an expert panel to discuss the evolving situation on-the-ground and consider what options exist to prevent catastrophic loss of life from famine and disease. She will be joined by Scott Anderson, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) deputy humanitarian coordinator and director of UNRWA affairs in Gaza, Ambassador David Satterfield, the former White House special envoy for Middle East humanitarian issues, and Jeremy Konyndyk, the president of Refugees International, which recently released a report that examines the reality of famine in Gaza.  

event speakers

Katherine Wilkens

Nonresident Fellow, Middle East Program

Katherine Wilkens is a nonresident fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace where she formerly served as deputy director of the Middle East Program.

Scott Anderson

Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator and Director of UNRWA Affairs in Gaza, United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)

Scott Anderson is the deputy humanitarian coordinator and director of United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) affairs in Gaza. A seasoned professional in emergency operations and logistics, he has more than 20 years' experience in the field with both the United Nations and the United States military. Prior to his work in Gaza, he was head of the Kabul office for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and a company commander with the U.S. Army in Afghanistan.

Jeremy Konyndyk

President, Refugees International

Jeremy Konyndyk is president of Refugees International. A committed humanitarian advocate and seasoned emergency operator, he has served in senior appointments in two U.S. administrations and in a range of U.S. and overseas NGO leadership positions.    

Prior to joining Refugees International, Jeremy served in the Biden administration as USAID’s lead official for COVID-19, overseeing USAID’s multi-billion-dollar COVID-19 assistance portfolio. From 2013–2017, Jeremy served in the Obama administration as the director of USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), where he led the U.S. government’s response to international disasters including the civil wars in Syria and South Sudan, the West Africa Ebola response, and hunger crises in the Horn of Africa.  

David M. Satterfield

Ambassador David M. Satterfield

Director of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy

Ambassador David M. Satterfield serves as director of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. He has served as assistant secretary of state, National Security Council staff director, ambassador to Lebanon and Turkey, and chargé d’affaires in Iraq and Egypt. In October 2023 President Biden appointed him White House special envoy for Middle East humanitarian issues to lead U.S. diplomacy in addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. In April 2024 he stepped down from this role and continues to serve as a White House senior advisor.

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