US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff visited southern Gaza on Friday amid international outrage over starvation, shortages and deadly chaos near aid distribution sites.
Witkoff and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee toured one of Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s distribution sites in Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, according to an official involved with the visit.
The official requested anonymity because he was not authorised to brief the media.
All four of the group’s distribution sites are in zones controlled by the Israeli military and throughout their months in operation, have become flashpoints of desperation, where starving people scramble for scarce aid. Hundreds have been killed by either gunfire or trampling.
The Israeli military claims it has only fired warning shots at people who approach its forces, and GHF says its armed contractors have only used pepper spray or fired warning shots to prevent deadly crowding.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that he was sent to craft a plan to boost food and aid deliveries as part of an effort “to save lives and end this crisis," while Trump wrote on social media that the fastest way to end the crisis would be for Hamas to surrender and release hostages.
Brink of famine
International organisations have said Gaza has been on the brink of famine for the past two years.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, the leading international authority on food crises, said recent developments, including a complete blockade on aid for 2 1/2 months, mean the “worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in Gaza.”
The amount of aid getting into Gaza remains far lower than what aid organisations say is needed.
A security breakdown in the Palestinian enclave has made it nearly impossible to safely deliver food to starving Palestinians, and much of the limited aid entering is hoarded and later sold at exorbitant prices.
Turning distributions into bloodbaths
In a report issued Friday, Human Rights Watch called it “a flawed, militarised aid distribution system that has turned aid distributions into regular bloodbaths.”
Israel's military and the prime minister's office did not respond to a request for comment on the report.
A July 30 video published Thursday by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs showed an aid convoy driving past a border crossing as gunfire ricocheted off the ground near where 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," said Olga Cherevko, an OCHA staff member.
