for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the country. Other activities International Crisis Group (ICG), Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2010) Humanitarian Leadership Academy, Chairman of the Board of Trustees (2015-2016) Overseas Development Institute (ODI), Member of the High Level Panel on Humanitarian Cash Transfers (2015) Political positions In a United Kingdom Channel 4 interview Egeland laid the blame on the crisis in Lebanon on Hezbollah who he said "Hide amongst the civilian population and which gives the Israeli air force no choice but to attack civilian structures," though he also has referred to the Israeli strikes as "a violation of humanitarian law". On 28 July 2006, he proposed a 72-hour cease fire between Israel and Hezbollah in order for emergency relief to move the wounded and get food and medical supplies into the war zone. Israel rejected the proposal, claiming that the humanitarian corridor it opened to and from Lebanon was sufficient for the purpose. Egeland responded that "Hizbollah is not necessarily the biggest obstacle to an agreement". Israel later agreed to a 48-hour halt of bombing, while reserving the right to take action against targets preparing attacks. In March 2008, Egeland gave a lecture entitled "War, Peace and Climate Change: A Billion Lives in the Balance" at the University of San Diego's Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice Distinguished Lecture Series. Tsunami relief On 27 December 2004, during the initial phase of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake relief effort, Egeland said that "Christmas time should remind many Western countries how rich we have become, and if actually the foreign assistance of many countries now is 0.1 or 0.2 percent of their gross national income, I think that is stingy, really." According to Egeland, in his memoir A Billion Lives (2008), this "stingy" quote was taken out of context by the press as directed at tsunami relief, when in fact Egeland was addressing the long and ongoing drive by the UN for all OECD nations to contribute 0.7% of GNP to humanitarian efforts. Initial response by the White House to Egeland's quote, taken out of context by the press as a direct attack on the United States (which at the time had donated $15 million), was very negative. However, Egeland subsequently clarified his remarks, and all was forgiven, although Egeland became the focus of a negative campaign online. However the "stingy" quote did in fact