Hunt for truth as aid deaths rise : US envoy visits Gaza sites, promises more food
The visit by Steve Witkoff came as a report from global advocacy group Human Rights Watch accused Israeli forces of presiding over 'regular bloodbaths' close to US-backed aid points run by the private Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
The UN human rights office in the Palestinian territories said at least 1,373 people had been killed seeking aid in Gaza since May 27 — 105 of them in the last two days of July.
'Most of these killings were committed by the Israeli military,' the UN office said, breaking down the death toll into 859 killed near GHF food sites and 514 along routes used by UN and aid agency convoys.
Witkoff said he had spent more than five hours inside Gaza, in a post accompanied by a photograph of himself wearing a protective vest and meeting staff at a GHF distribution centre.
'The purpose of the visit was to give POTUS a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza,' he said, referring to Trump.
Trump himself echoed this in a phone call with US news site Axios, 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 a long time ago,' Trump said, according to Axios.
The US leader repeated Israeli claims that Hamas is responsible for stealing much of the aid that makes it into Gaza, but did not say whether his plan would involve reinforcing GHF or creating a whole new mechanism, the report said.
The foundation said it had delivered its 100-millionth meal in Gaza during the visit by Witkoff and US Ambassador Mike Huckabee.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Tribune
13 hours ago
- Daily Tribune
Israel to partially reopen Gaza private goods trade
Undefined Israel will partially reopen private sector trade with Gaza to reduce its reliance on humanitarian aid, the defence ministry civil affairs agency for the Palestinian territories said on Tuesday. 'As part of formulating the mechanism, a limited number of local merchants were approved by the defence establishment, subject to several criteria and strict security screening,' COGAT said. Israel has been fighting Hamas in Gaza for 22 months and imposed a total blockade on March 2, partially lifted in May to allow a US-backed private agency to open food distribution centres. Aid convoys and airdrops by Arab and European militaries resumed last month, as UN-mandated expert reports warned famine was unfolding in the war-torn territory. The COGAT statement said private sector deliveries would be paid for by monitored bank transfers and be subject to inspections by the Israeli military before entering Gaza, 'to prevent the involvement of the Hamas terrorist organisation'. Permitted goods under the new mechanism will include food staples, fruit, vegetables, baby formula and hygiene products, COGAT said. The agency said more than 300 aid trucks entered Gaza on Monday, a larger number than in previous days, and that hundreds more were 'still queued up for UN pickup'.
Daily Tribune
13 hours ago
- Daily Tribune
Expanded Gaza war risks ‘catastrophic consequences'
AFP | United Nations A top UN official warned yesterday that expanding Israeli military operations inside Gaza would risk 'catastrophic consequences,' as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly considered total occupation of the Palestinian territory. A widening of the war 'would risk catastrophic consequences for millions of Palestinians and could further endanger the lives of the remaining hostages in Gaza,' Miroslav Jenca, UN assistant secretary-general for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas, told a Security Council meeting. 'There is no military solution to the conflict in Gaza or the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict,' Jenca said. During a visit to an army training facility earlier yesterday, Netanyahu said: 'It is necessary to complete the defeat of the enemy in Gaza, to free all our hostages and to ensure that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel.' Over the 22 months of war, Israeli forces have devastated large parts of the Gaza Strip, where repeated warnings of famine have increased pressure on Netanyahu's government to halt the fighting. The war was sparked by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to a tally based on official figures.
Daily Tribune
13 hours ago
- Daily Tribune
UN experts call for GHF to be dismantled
United Nations special rapporteurs called yesterday for the Israel- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to be immediately dismantled, saying aid was being "exploited for covert military and geopolitical agendas". An exceptionally-large group of the UN-mandated experts voiced grave concerns over the GHF's operations. The private organisation began distributing food in Gaza Strip in May as Israel began easing a more than two-month aid blockade on the Palestinian territory that had exacerbated existing shortages. "The GHF ... is an utterly disturbing example of how humanitarian relief can be exploited for covert military and geopolitical agendas in serious breach of international law," the experts said in a joint statement. "The entanglement of Israeli intelligence, US contractors and ambiguous non-governmental entities underlines the urgent need for robust international oversight and action under UN auspices. "Calling it 'humanitarian' adds on to Israel's humanitarian camouflage and is an insult to the humanitarian enterprise and standards." On July 22, the UN rights office said Israeli forces had killed more than 1,000 Palestinians trying to get food aid in Gaza since the GHF started operations -- nearly three-quarters of them in the vicinity of GHF sites. "Without clear accountability, the very idea of humanitarian relief may ultimately become a casualty of modern hybrid warfare," the special rapporteurs said. "The credibility and effectiveness of humanitarian assistance must be restored by dismantling the GHF, holding it and its executives accountable, and allowing experienced and humanitarian actors from the UN and civil society alike to take back the reins of managing and distributing lifesaving aid." The joint statement was signed by Francesca Albanese, the UN's special rapporteur on the rights situation in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967. Israel accuses her of having an "obsessive, hate-driven agenda to delegitimise the state of Israel". The statement was also signed by 18 other special rapporteurs, plus other UN experts and members of UN working groups -- a notably large number for such statements. Special rapporteurs are independent experts mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to report their findings. They do not, therefore, speak for the United Nations itself. More than two million people live in the Gaza Strip. GHF says it has distributed more than 1.76 million boxes of foodstuffs to date. "We continue to improve our operations," GHF executive director John Acree said Monday. "We urge the international humanitarian community to join us -- we have the scale and capacity to deliver more aid to the people of Gaza."
