Donald Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, made a surprise visit to Gaza on Friday, touring a controversial food distribution site where hundreds of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces. Witkoff, a former real estate lawyer with no background in foreign policy or humanitarian aid, stated he was helping to 'craft a plan' to deliver food and medical aid to the territory.
The visit came amid mounting international concern over conditions of starvation in Gaza, exacerbated by months of Israeli-imposed aid restrictions. Witkoff met earlier with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The United Nations reported that Israeli forces have killed 1,353 Palestinians waiting for food, including 859 near the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) sites and 514 along UN aid convoy routes.
Human Rights Watch described the GHF-run sites as 'death traps' that have become scenes of regular 'bloodbaths'. The organisation's associate crisis director, Belkis Wille, accused Israeli forces of deliberately starving Palestinian civilians and gunning them down as they sought food for their families. GHF denied any fatalities at its sites on Friday.
Hours after Witkoff's visit, Palestinian medics reported 13 people shot dead by Israeli forces while trying to obtain aid. The UN stated that Israeli policies have created widespread desperation, with aid convoys often overwhelmed by starving people before reaching warehouses. Aid experts warned that airdrops, resumed by several countries, are insufficient to counter starvation.
Witkoff's trip and the ongoing controversy around GHF operations have raised questions about the credibility of US and Israeli plans to increase aid flows. Trump reiterated his intention to boost aid in a phone call, saying, 'We want to help people... It is something that should have happened a long time ago.'
