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Witkoff in Israel to discuss Gaza crisis after Trump cites ‘hungry children' to refute Netanyahu claims
US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff speaks to members of the news media with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt outside of the West Wing at the White House in Washington, US, on March 6, 2025. Reuters File
US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, is heading to Israel amid mounting international anger over the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. US officials close to the matter, told the New York Times, that this will be Witkoff's first known visit to Israel since May, when the United States negotiated the release of the last living American-Israeli hostage held by Hamas in Gaza.
This time, Witkoff is expected to arrive in Israel under grim circumstances. The visit is coming at a time when widespread hunger has gripped the Gaza Strip, with thousands suffering from starvation. The World Food Program said that more than one in three Palestinians are not eating for multiple consecutive days.
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Meanwhile, Gaza health officials say that dozens of people, including children, have died of starvation in recent weeks. Witkoff's visit came a week after Trump publicly acknowledged starvation in Gaza, breaking away from the narrative proposed by Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who outrightly denied it was occurring. 'That's real starvation stuff, I see it, and you can't fake that,' Trump said on Monday.
West raises concerns over Gaza crisis
Witkoff has been the Trump administration's leading negotiator when it comes to reaching a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which will also entail the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. However, those talks stalled last week.
Meanwhile, the devastating conditions in the coastal enclave have prompted a global outcry in Israel over the past several days. Last week, France announced it would recognise the state of Palestine, a move followed — albeit conditionally — by Britain.
In the midst of this, a coalition of about 30 countries, including some of Israel's traditional allies, called last week for an immediate end to the war. More than 60,000 people have now been killed in Israel's campaign against Hamas in Gaza, which has been raging on since the Palestinian group's surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
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