Witkoff visits Gaza aid site as US draws up new plan

The National

21 hours ago

US envoy Steve Witkoff hinted at a new plan to feed Gaza on Friday, after visiting one of the food banks where starving Palestinians have allegedly been killed by Israel.
Mr Witkoff said he and US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee spent more than five hours inside Gaza "assessing conditions" and speaking to staff from the Israeli and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
The purpose of the visit was to give US President Donald Trump"a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza", Mr Witkoff said.
According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, at least 1,373 Palestinians have been killed while seeking food. It said in a report that 859 were killed in the vicinity of GHF sites, and 514 along the routes of food convoys. "Most of these killings were committed by the Israeli military," it added.
The US diplomats visited one of the GHF aid sites in the southern city of Rafah. "This morning I joined Steve Witkoff for a visit to Gaza to learn the truth about GHF aid sites," Mr Huckabee wrote on X. GHF wrote on the platform that it had delivered its 100 millionth meal on Friday.
On Thursday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters the pair would 'secure a plan to deliver more food and meet local Gazans to hear first-hand about this dire situation '.
Their visit came after Mr Trump lamented the aid situation in Gaza. He described it as 'terrible', despite Israeli claims that there is 'no starvation policy' in the enclave.
'It's terrible what's occurring there. It's a terrible thing. People are very hungry,' Mr Trump told reporters. 'You know, the United States gave $60 million for food, and it's a shame, because I don't see the results of it. And we gave it to people that, in theory, are watching over it fairly closely. We wanted Israel to watch over it.'
Mr Witkoff would brief President Trump after the visit to 'approve a final plan for food and aid distribution into the region', said Ms Leavitt. Mr Trump himself echoed this in a phone call with US news site Axios on Friday touting a plan to "get people fed".
"We want to help people. We want to help them live. We want to get people fed. It is something that should have happened long time ago," Mr Trump said, according to Axios.
US-backed Israeli forces and private contractors have put in place a flawed, militarised aid distribution system that has turned aid distributions into regular bloodbaths, said Human Rights Watch on Friday.
The UN report said that the Human Rights Office in the occupied Palestinian Territory has no information that the Palestinians killed while seeking aid were directly participating in hostilities or posed any threat to Israeli security forces or other individuals.
"Each person killed or injured had been desperately struggling for survival, not only for themselves, but also for their families and dependents," it said.
Meanwhile, increasing numbers of Palestinians are dying from malnutrition and starvation, including children, older people, people with disabilities and the sick or injured.
"They often have little or no support and cannot access the locations where extremely limited aid may be available. This humanitarian catastrophe is human-made. It is a direct result of policies imposed by Israel that have severely reduced the amount of life-saving assistance in the Gaza Strip."
Political theatre
Many Palestinians described the US envoy's visit as little more than political theatre.
'Maybe he should come every day, at least then we'd be assured that people won't be killed or humiliated,' said Khaled Foad, 40, who was displaced to Mawasi in Khan Younis after his home in the Al Zahraa neighbourhood was destroyed.
'Let the people benefit from this 'show'. Even women haven't been safe from the violence, and now they're pretending to treat people with kindness,' he added, referring to deaths near GHF aid sites.
Awoni Salah, a 50-year-old Gazan, echoed Mr Foad's sentiments.
'The visit of Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, to the American aid distribution centres is a show,' he said. 'Today, there is no repression, no pepper spray, no gunfire, no casualties.
'If you want to know the truth, just let international journalists into Gaza. It's as simple as that. Let him visit one of Gaza's hospitals, then he'll see the reality for himself.'
Mr Witkoff arrived in Israel on Thursday, before he and Mr Huckabee had a 'very productive meeting' with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials about delivering food and aid to Gaza, Ms Leavitt said.
The death toll from Israel's military campaign in Gaza has passed 60,100, and images of starving children have fuelled anger and concern in many western countries, including the US.
This week, for the first time, President Trump admitted that 'real starvation' was taking place across Gaza.
Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul also arrived in Israel on Thursday on a trip to try to convince Israeli counterparts to allow in more aid.
On Friday, Mr Wadephul met the families of seven German-Israeli hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza, according to the German Embassy in Tel Aviv.
Mr Wadephul signalled on Thursday that Germany may be reconsidering its position on Israel and Gaza, amid UN reports of famine spreading in the strip. Israel is increasingly finding itself in a 'minority position', Mr Wadephul warned in a statement issued before his visit.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced last week that his country, a heavyweight in the EU, plans to recognise a Palestinian state, becoming the first major western nation to do so. Britain and Canada have since said they could also do so.
Israel's refusal to end the war in Gaza and its aid policy in the Palestinian territory have made it more isolated than ever.
Mr Witkoff's visit follows the imposition of US sanctions on members of the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organisation.
Washington accused the PA and PLO of 'continuing to support terrorism', supporting international legal cases against Israel and 'undermining prospects for peace', the US State Department said on Thursday.
Palestinian officials told The National the sanctions were punishment for seeking an end to Israel's occupation and the establishment of a Palestinian state.