US envoy visits Gaza sites as UN says hundreds of aid-seekers killed
The visit by Steve Witkoff came as a report from global advocacy group Human Rights Watch (HRW) also accused Israeli forces of presiding over "regular bloodbaths" close to the US-backed aid points.
The UN's 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 the US-backed food sites and 514 along routes used by UN and aid agency convoys.
The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, posted on X that he and Witkoff had visited Gaza "to learn the truth" about the private aid sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is supported by the United States.
"We received briefings from IDF (the Israeli military) and spoke to folks on the ground. GHF delivers more than one million meals a day, an incredible feat!" Huckabee said.
"Hamas hates GHF because it gets food to people without it being looted by Hamas."
The foundation, on its own X account, posted that it had been a "privilege and honor" to host Witkoff and Huckabee as the group delivered its 100-millionth meal in Gaza, fulfilling Trump's "call to lead with strength, compassion and action".
Gaza's civil defence agency said 11 people were killed by Israeli fire and air strikes on Friday, including two who were waiting near an aid distribution site run by GHF.
GHF largely sidelined the longstanding UN-led humanitarian system just as Israel was beginning to ease a more than two-month aid blockade that exacerbated existing shortages of food and other essentials.
- 'Beyond imagination' -
In its report on the GHF centres on Friday, Human Rights Watch accused the Israeli military of illegally using starvation as a weapon of war.
"Israeli forces are not only deliberately starving Palestinian civilians, but they are now gunning them down almost every day as they desperately seek food for their families," said Belkis Wille, associate crisis and conflict director at Human Rights Watch.
"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."
Responding to the report, the military said GHF worked independently, but that Israeli soldiers operated "in proximity to the new distribution areas in order to enable the orderly delivery of food".
It accused Hamas of trying to prevent food distribution and said that it was conducting a review of the reported deaths, adding it worked to "minimise, as much as possible, any friction between the civilian population" and its forces.
After arriving in Israel on Thursday, Witkoff held talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over how to resolve the almost 22-month-old war, feed desperate civilians and free the remaining hostages held by Palestinian militants.
Netanyahu has vowed to destroy Hamas and free the captives, but is under international pressure to end the bloodshed that has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians and threatened many more with famine.
Following his discussions with Witkoff, Netanyahu met Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul of Germany, another staunch Israeli ally, who nonetheless delivered a blunt message.
"The humanitarian disaster in Gaza is beyond imagination," Wadephul told reporters after the meeting, urging the government "to provide humanitarian and medical aid to prevent mass starvation from becoming a reality".
"I have the impression that this has been understood today," he added.
- Hostage video -
On Thursday, the armed wing of Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad released a video showing German-Israeli hostage Rom Braslavski, 21, watching recent news footage of the crisis in Gaza and pleading with the Israeli government to secure his release.
"Even the strongest person has a breaking point," his family said in a statement released by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum in Israel.
"Rom is an example of all the hostages. They must all be brought home now."
On Friday, Wadephul also met relatives of hostages still held in the Gaza Strip. According to the German foreign office, among the 49 hostages still held, a "single-digit" number are German-Israeli dual nationals
"Germany continues to do everything in our power to achieve the release of the hostages," Wadephul said, expressing outrage at the video release.
This "horrible" footage reveals "once again the utter depravity of the kidnappers", he added.
The Hamas-led October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to a tally based on official figures.
Of the 251 people taken hostage, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 declared dead by the Israeli military.
The retaliatory Israeli offensive has killed at least 60,249 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to Hamas-run Gaza's health ministry.
This week UN aid agencies said deaths from starvation had begun.
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US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy has visited a US-backed aid operation in Gaza, which the United Nations has partly blamed for deadly conditions in the enclave, saying he sought to get food and other aid to people there. Steve Witkoff on Friday visited a site run by the US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in Rafah in the war-shattered Palestinian territory, where Israel has been fighting the militant group Hamas. Humanitarian organisations and many foreign governments have been strongly critical of the GHF, which began operations in late May. A global hunger monitor warned this week that famine is unfolding in Gaza. Hours after Witkoff's visit, Palestinian medics reported Israeli forces shot dead three Palestinians near one of the group's sites in the city on Gaza's southern edge. Reuters could not immediately verify whether it was the same location. 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The GHF says nobody has been killed at its distribution points, and that it is doing a better job of protecting aid deliveries than the UN Israel blames Hamas and the UN for the failure of food to get to desperate Palestinians in Gaza and introduced the GHF distribution system, saying it would prevent aid supplies being seized by Hamas. Hamas denies stealing aid. Indirect negotiations between the sides aimed at securing a 60-day ceasefire and hostage release deal ended last week in deadlock. Hamas on Friday released a video of Israeli hostage Evyatar David in one of its tunnels appearing skeletally thin. Its allied Islamic Jihad militant group released a video on Thursday of hostage Rom Braslavski, crying and pleading for his release. Witkoff visited Gaza a day after meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel is under mounting international pressure over the devastation of Gaza since the start of the war and growing starvation among its 2.2 million inhabitants. Gaza medics say dozens of people have died of malnutrition in recent days after Israel cut off all supplies to the enclave for nearly three months from March to May. Israel says it is taking steps to let in more aid, including pausing fighting for part of the day in some areas and announcing protected routes for aid convoys. On Friday, the Israeli military said 200 trucks of aid were distributed by the UN and other organisations on Thursday, with hundreds more waiting to be picked up from the border crossings inside Gaza. The UN says it has thousands of trucks still waiting, if Israel would let them in without the stringent security measures that aid groups say have prevented the entry of humanitarian assistance. Israel began allowing food air drops this week, but UN agencies say these are a poor alternative to letting in more trucks. On Friday, the Israeli military said that 126 food packages were airdropped by six countries, including for the first time France, Spain, and Germany. The Gaza war began when Hamas killed more than 1200 people and took 251 hostage in an attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, according to Israeli figures. Israel's offensive has since killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials. US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy has visited a US-backed aid operation in Gaza, which the United Nations has partly blamed for deadly conditions in the enclave, saying he sought to get food and other aid to people there. Steve Witkoff on Friday visited a site run by the US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in Rafah in the war-shattered Palestinian territory, where Israel has been fighting the militant group Hamas. Humanitarian organisations and many foreign governments have been strongly critical of the GHF, which began operations in late May. A global hunger monitor warned this week that famine is unfolding in Gaza. Hours after Witkoff's visit, Palestinian medics reported Israeli forces shot dead three Palestinians near one of the group's sites in the city on Gaza's southern edge. Reuters could not immediately verify whether it was the same location. The Israeli military said it was still looking into the incident in which soldiers fired warning shots at what it described as a "gathering of suspects" approaching its troops, hundreds of metres from the aid site. The UN says more than 1000 people have been killed trying to receive aid in Gaza since the GHF began operating, most of them shot by Israeli forces operating near GHF sites. The Israeli military has acknowledged that its forces have killed some Palestinians seeking aid and says it has given its troops new orders to improve their response. The UN has declined to work with the GHF, which it says distributes aid in ways that are inherently dangerous and violate humanitarian neutrality principles, contributing to the hunger crisis across the territory. The GHF says nobody has been killed at its distribution points, and that it is doing a better job of protecting aid deliveries than the UN Israel blames Hamas and the UN for the failure of food to get to desperate Palestinians in Gaza and introduced the GHF distribution system, saying it would prevent aid supplies being seized by Hamas. Hamas denies stealing aid. Indirect negotiations between the sides aimed at securing a 60-day ceasefire and hostage release deal ended last week in deadlock. Hamas on Friday released a video of Israeli hostage Evyatar David in one of its tunnels appearing skeletally thin. Its allied Islamic Jihad militant group released a video on Thursday of hostage Rom Braslavski, crying and pleading for his release. Witkoff visited Gaza a day after meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel is under mounting international pressure over the devastation of Gaza since the start of the war and growing starvation among its 2.2 million inhabitants. Gaza medics say dozens of people have died of malnutrition in recent days after Israel cut off all supplies to the enclave for nearly three months from March to May. Israel says it is taking steps to let in more aid, including pausing fighting for part of the day in some areas and announcing protected routes for aid convoys. On Friday, the Israeli military said 200 trucks of aid were distributed by the UN and other organisations on Thursday, with hundreds more waiting to be picked up from the border crossings inside Gaza. The UN says it has thousands of trucks still waiting, if Israel would let them in without the stringent security measures that aid groups say have prevented the entry of humanitarian assistance. Israel began allowing food air drops this week, but UN agencies say these are a poor alternative to letting in more trucks. On Friday, the Israeli military said that 126 food packages were airdropped by six countries, including for the first time France, Spain, and Germany. The Gaza war began when Hamas killed more than 1200 people and took 251 hostage in an attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, according to Israeli figures. Israel's offensive has since killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials. US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy has visited a US-backed aid operation in Gaza, which the United Nations has partly blamed for deadly conditions in the enclave, saying he sought to get food and other aid to people there. Steve Witkoff on Friday visited a site run by the US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in Rafah in the war-shattered Palestinian territory, where Israel has been fighting the militant group Hamas. Humanitarian organisations and many foreign governments have been strongly critical of the GHF, which began operations in late May. A global hunger monitor warned this week that famine is unfolding in Gaza. Hours after Witkoff's visit, Palestinian medics reported Israeli forces shot dead three Palestinians near one of the group's sites in the city on Gaza's southern edge. Reuters could not immediately verify whether it was the same location. The Israeli military said it was still looking into the incident in which soldiers fired warning shots at what it described as a "gathering of suspects" approaching its troops, hundreds of metres from the aid site. The UN says more than 1000 people have been killed trying to receive aid in Gaza since the GHF began operating, most of them shot by Israeli forces operating near GHF sites. The Israeli military has acknowledged that its forces have killed some Palestinians seeking aid and says it has given its troops new orders to improve their response. The UN has declined to work with the GHF, which it says distributes aid in ways that are inherently dangerous and violate humanitarian neutrality principles, contributing to the hunger crisis across the territory. The GHF says nobody has been killed at its distribution points, and that it is doing a better job of protecting aid deliveries than the UN Israel blames Hamas and the UN for the failure of food to get to desperate Palestinians in Gaza and introduced the GHF distribution system, saying it would prevent aid supplies being seized by Hamas. Hamas denies stealing aid. Indirect negotiations between the sides aimed at securing a 60-day ceasefire and hostage release deal ended last week in deadlock. Hamas on Friday released a video of Israeli hostage Evyatar David in one of its tunnels appearing skeletally thin. Its allied Islamic Jihad militant group released a video on Thursday of hostage Rom Braslavski, crying and pleading for his release. Witkoff visited Gaza a day after meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel is under mounting international pressure over the devastation of Gaza since the start of the war and growing starvation among its 2.2 million inhabitants. Gaza medics say dozens of people have died of malnutrition in recent days after Israel cut off all supplies to the enclave for nearly three months from March to May. Israel says it is taking steps to let in more aid, including pausing fighting for part of the day in some areas and announcing protected routes for aid convoys. On Friday, the Israeli military said 200 trucks of aid were distributed by the UN and other organisations on Thursday, with hundreds more waiting to be picked up from the border crossings inside Gaza. The UN says it has thousands of trucks still waiting, if Israel would let them in without the stringent security measures that aid groups say have prevented the entry of humanitarian assistance. Israel began allowing food air drops this week, but UN agencies say these are a poor alternative to letting in more trucks. On Friday, the Israeli military said that 126 food packages were airdropped by six countries, including for the first time France, Spain, and Germany. The Gaza war began when Hamas killed more than 1200 people and took 251 hostage in an attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, according to Israeli figures. Israel's offensive has since killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials. US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy has visited a US-backed aid operation in Gaza, which the United Nations has partly blamed for deadly conditions in the enclave, saying he sought to get food and other aid to people there. Steve Witkoff on Friday visited a site run by the US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in Rafah in the war-shattered Palestinian territory, where Israel has been fighting the militant group Hamas. Humanitarian organisations and many foreign governments have been strongly critical of the GHF, which began operations in late May. A global hunger monitor warned this week that famine is unfolding in Gaza. Hours after Witkoff's visit, Palestinian medics reported Israeli forces shot dead three Palestinians near one of the group's sites in the city on Gaza's southern edge. Reuters could not immediately verify whether it was the same location. The Israeli military said it was still looking into the incident in which soldiers fired warning shots at what it described as a "gathering of suspects" approaching its troops, hundreds of metres from the aid site. The UN says more than 1000 people have been killed trying to receive aid in Gaza since the GHF began operating, most of them shot by Israeli forces operating near GHF sites. The Israeli military has acknowledged that its forces have killed some Palestinians seeking aid and says it has given its troops new orders to improve their response. The UN has declined to work with the GHF, which it says distributes aid in ways that are inherently dangerous and violate humanitarian neutrality principles, contributing to the hunger crisis across the territory. The GHF says nobody has been killed at its distribution points, and that it is doing a better job of protecting aid deliveries than the UN Israel blames Hamas and the UN for the failure of food to get to desperate Palestinians in Gaza and introduced the GHF distribution system, saying it would prevent aid supplies being seized by Hamas. Hamas denies stealing aid. Indirect negotiations between the sides aimed at securing a 60-day ceasefire and hostage release deal ended last week in deadlock. Hamas on Friday released a video of Israeli hostage Evyatar David in one of its tunnels appearing skeletally thin. Its allied Islamic Jihad militant group released a video on Thursday of hostage Rom Braslavski, crying and pleading for his release. Witkoff visited Gaza a day after meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel is under mounting international pressure over the devastation of Gaza since the start of the war and growing starvation among its 2.2 million inhabitants. Gaza medics say dozens of people have died of malnutrition in recent days after Israel cut off all supplies to the enclave for nearly three months from March to May. Israel says it is taking steps to let in more aid, including pausing fighting for part of the day in some areas and announcing protected routes for aid convoys. On Friday, the Israeli military said 200 trucks of aid were distributed by the UN and other organisations on Thursday, with hundreds more waiting to be picked up from the border crossings inside Gaza. The UN says it has thousands of trucks still waiting, if Israel would let them in without the stringent security measures that aid groups say have prevented the entry of humanitarian assistance. Israel began allowing food air drops this week, but UN agencies say these are a poor alternative to letting in more trucks. On Friday, the Israeli military said that 126 food packages were airdropped by six countries, including for the first time France, Spain, and Germany. The Gaza war began when Hamas killed more than 1200 people and took 251 hostage in an attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, according to Israeli figures. Israel's offensive has since killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials.
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US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy has visited a US-backed aid operation in Gaza, which the United Nations has partly blamed for deadly conditions in the enclave, saying he sought to get food and other aid to people there. Steve Witkoff on Friday visited a site run by the US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in Rafah in the war-shattered Palestinian territory, where Israel has been fighting the militant group Hamas. Humanitarian organisations and many foreign governments have been strongly critical of the GHF, which began operations in late May. A global hunger monitor warned this week that famine is unfolding in Gaza. Hours after Witkoff's visit, Palestinian medics reported Israeli forces shot dead three Palestinians near one of the group's sites in the city on Gaza's southern edge. Reuters could not immediately verify whether it was the same location. The Israeli military said it was still looking into the incident in which soldiers fired warning shots at what it described as a "gathering of suspects" approaching its troops, hundreds of metres from the aid site. The UN says more than 1000 people have been killed trying to receive aid in Gaza since the GHF began operating, most of them shot by Israeli forces operating near GHF sites. The Israeli military has acknowledged that its forces have killed some Palestinians seeking aid and says it has given its troops new orders to improve their response. The UN has declined to work with the GHF, which it says distributes aid in ways that are inherently dangerous and violate humanitarian neutrality principles, contributing to the hunger crisis across the territory. The GHF says nobody has been killed at its distribution points, and that it is doing a better job of protecting aid deliveries than the UN Israel blames Hamas and the UN for the failure of food to get to desperate Palestinians in Gaza and introduced the GHF distribution system, saying it would prevent aid supplies being seized by Hamas. Hamas denies stealing aid. Indirect negotiations between the sides aimed at securing a 60-day ceasefire and hostage release deal ended last week in deadlock. Hamas on Friday released a video of Israeli hostage Evyatar David in one of its tunnels appearing skeletally thin. Its allied Islamic Jihad militant group released a video on Thursday of hostage Rom Braslavski, crying and pleading for his release. Witkoff visited Gaza a day after meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel is under mounting international pressure over the devastation of Gaza since the start of the war and growing starvation among its 2.2 million inhabitants. Gaza medics say dozens of people have died of malnutrition in recent days after Israel cut off all supplies to the enclave for nearly three months from March to May. Israel says it is taking steps to let in more aid, including pausing fighting for part of the day in some areas and announcing protected routes for aid convoys. On Friday, the Israeli military said 200 trucks of aid were distributed by the UN and other organisations on Thursday, with hundreds more waiting to be picked up from the border crossings inside Gaza. The UN says it has thousands of trucks still waiting, if Israel would let them in without the stringent security measures that aid groups say have prevented the entry of humanitarian assistance. Israel began allowing food air drops this week, but UN agencies say these are a poor alternative to letting in more trucks. On Friday, the Israeli military said that 126 food packages were airdropped by six countries, including for the first time France, Spain, and Germany. The Gaza war began when Hamas killed more than 1200 people and took 251 hostage in an attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, according to Israeli figures. Israel's offensive has since killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials.
