President Trump’s particular envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee visited southern Gaza on Friday amid worldwide outrage over hunger, assist shortages and lethal chaos close to assist distribution websites.
Witkoff and Huckabee toured one of many privately run U.S. and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Basis’s distribution websites, Huckabee stated.
The goal of the go to was “to learn the truth” about GHF websites, Huckabee wrote in a social media submit.
“We received briefings from (the IDF) and spoke to folks on the ground. GHF delivers more than one million meals a day, an incredible feat!” Huckabee stated.
A photograph shared on social media by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff exhibits him and Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee visiting an assist distribution website in Gaza on Friday, August 1, 2025.
Steve Witkoff
Witkoff and Huckabee visited a GHF website in Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost metropolis, in keeping with an official concerned with the go to. The official requested anonymity as a result of they weren’t approved to transient the media.
“Today, we spent over five hours inside Gaza – level setting the facts on the ground, assessing conditions, and meeting with (GHF) and other agencies. The purpose of the visit was to give (President Trump) a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza,” Witkoff stated on social media.
Mr. Trump “sent his envoy to serve as his eyes and ears on the ground, reflecting his deep concern and commitment to doing what’s right,” GHF spokesperson Chapin Fay stated in a press release. “We were honored to brief his delegation, share our operations, and demonstrate the impact of delivering 100 million meals to those who need them most.”
All 4 of the group’s distribution websites are in zones managed by the Israeli army. All through their months in operation, these websites have turn into flashpoints of desperation, with mass crowds of individuals gathering outdoors however who’ve then come beneath hearth from Israeli forces or been trampled within the ensuing crush.
The Israeli army says it has solely fired warning pictures at individuals who strategy its forces, and GHF says its armed contractors have solely used pepper spray or fired warning pictures to regulate crowds. However there was a persistent sample of individuals being killed by Israeli gunfire and even heavier weapons across the G.H.F. websites over the previous 5 months, with the dying toll within the tons of.
Witkoff’s go to comes every week after U.S. officers walked away from ceasefire talks in Qatar, blaming Hamas and pledging to hunt different methods to rescue Israeli hostages and make Gaza protected.
White Home Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated Thursday that he was despatched to craft a plan to spice up meals and assist deliveries as a part of an effort “to save lives and end this crisis,” whereas Mr. Trump wrote on social media that the quickest approach to finish the disaster can be for Hamas to give up and launch hostages.
Worldwide organizations have stated Gaza has been getting ready to famine for the previous two years. The Built-in Meals Safety Section Classification, the main worldwide authority on meals crises, stated current developments, together with Israel’s full blockade on assist for two 1/2 months, imply the “worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in Gaza.”
Although the circulate of assist has resumed, together with through airdrops, the quantity entering into Gaza stays far decrease than what assist organizations say is required. A safety breakdown within the territory has made it practically inconceivable to securely ship meals to ravenous Palestinians; a lot of the restricted assist getting into is hoarded and later bought at exorbitant costs.
In a report issued Friday, Human Rights Watch known as it “a flawed, militarized aid distribution system that has turned aid distributions into regular bloodbaths.”
Israel’s army and the prime minister’s workplace didn’t reply to a request for touch upon the report.
A July 30 video printed Thursday by the U.N. Workplace for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs confirmed an assist convoy driving previous a border crossing as gunfire ricocheted off the bottom close to the place crowds congregated.
“We were met on the road by tens of thousands of hungry and desperate people who directly offloaded everything from the backs of our trucks,” stated Olga Cherevko, an OCHA workers member.
The warfare between Israel and Hamas began when Hamas attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing round 1,200 folks and abducting 251 others. They nonetheless maintain 50 hostages, together with round 20 believed to be alive. Many of the others have been launched in ceasefires or different offers.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed greater than 60,000 Palestinians, in keeping with Gaza’s Hamas-run Well being Ministry. Its depend doesn’t distinguish between militants and civilians. The ministry operates beneath the Hamas authorities. The U.N. and different worldwide organizations see it as essentially the most dependable supply of knowledge on casualties.
Haley Ott
contributed to this report.
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