US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff has for the first time visited a controversial Israel- and US-backed aid distribution site in Gaza on Friday.
Witkoff said the purpose of the trip to a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) site was to give Trump “a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza”.
The visit follows near daily reports of deadly shootings at GHF points, with the UN reporting at least 859 Palestinians killed in the vicinity of the sites – a figure the GHF rejects.
Israel said its troops have only fired warning shots and that they do not intentionally shoot civilians.
Posting on X afterwards, alongside pictures of their visit, Witkoff said: “Today, we spent over five hours inside Gaza – level setting the facts on the ground, assessing conditions, and meeting with @GHFUpdates and other agencies.”
The GHF said it had delivered 1.3m meals across three distribution sites on Thursday. It has not yet released figures for Friday. The UN said the number of meals provided by the GHF falls far short of overall nutritional requirements.
UN agencies have repeatedly warned that man-made, mass starvation is taking place in the territory.
Oxfam’s Americas director of peace and security, Scott Paul, said Witkoff during the visit would have been “confronted by scenes of countless Palestinian children and their families on the brink of starvation displaced in flattened communities outside their convoy windows”.
He added: “This must be what finally spurs the US to use its full influence to put an end to this catastrophe before we pass the point of no return.”
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