United States President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, will travel to Gaza on Friday to assess food and aid distribution in the besieged territory, as mounting international pressure bears down on Israel over its starvation policy during the ongoing war.
Witkoff will be joined by US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on the trip, which comes as reports continue to surface of Palestinians being killed while scrambling for scarce food supplies at distribution sites run by the controversial US- and Israeli-backed GHF. According to health officials in Gaza, more than 1,000 people have died at these locations since May.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the visit to reporters on Thursday, stating:
“The special envoy and the ambassador will visit distribution sites and secure a plan to deliver more food and meet with local Gazans to hear firsthand about this dire situation on the ground.”
She added:
“The special envoy and the ambassador will brief the president immediately after their visit to approve a final plan for food and aid distribution into the region.”
The planned trip follows another deadly day in Gaza on Thursday, when Israeli attacks killed more than 50 Palestinians. Health officials reported two more children dying from starvation, bringing the Gaza Health Ministry’s confirmed toll from “famine and malnutrition” to 154 people – including 89 children – in recent weeks.
Witkoff met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shortly after landing in Israel on Thursday, Netanyahu’s office confirmed.
The visit comes as President Trump publicly diverges from Netanyahu’s narrative that no famine exists in Gaza. Earlier this week, Trump said the enclave was experiencing “real starvation”, echoing warnings from the United Nations and humanitarian experts who have repeatedly said that Israel’s months-long blockade on aid has pushed the territory into famine conditions.
With input from Al Jazeera
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