US envoy Witkoff visits controversial Gaza aid site as nearly 1,400 Palestinians die seeking food
by Ruth Lawes · LBCBy Ruth Lawes
Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff made his first trip to a controversial Gaza aid site as the number of Palestinians killed while trying to access food approached 1,400.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Yesterday, Witkoff visited a distribution site operated by the controversial Israel- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) to 'help develop a plan to deliver food and medical aid'.
The GHF has been associated with the deaths of Palestinians, with the UN human rights office in Palestine (OHCHR) reporting that 859 have been killed near its sites.
This figure is disputed by the GHF, while Israel insists its forces have only discharged warning shots and do not deliberately target civilians.
Wiktoff attended the aid site with US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee to give Trump a 'clear understanding of the humanitarian situation'.
Read more: 'Shame on you': Freed British-Israeli hostage brands Starmer's Palestine ultimatum a 'moral failure'
On X, he wrote: At @POTUS’s direction, @USAmbIsrael and I met yesterday with Israeli officials to discuss the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
"Today, we spent over five hours inside Gaza — level setting the facts on the ground, assessing conditions, and meeting with @GHFUpdates and other agencies.
"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."
Shedding further light on the visit, Huckabee shared on X that they had received briefings from the Israel Defense Forces and 'spoke to folks on the ground',
He also claimed the GHF had been delivering more than one million meals a day.
In the latest figures, the OHCHR said that nearly 1,373 Palestinians have been killed while seeking food.
It said 'most of the killings' had been committed by the Israeli military.
A spokesperson said: "[The office] has no information that these Palestinians 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."
Shootings outside food distribution sites have been widely reported since Israel eased its blockade of humanitarian aid, including food and medicine, in May and began managing the distribution of aid itself.
Before this, Israel had imposed a complete blockade on the Gaza Strip for almost three months, claiming Hamas had been profiting off the aid by selling it to starving Palestinians.
Qhile the UN would distribute aid through hundreds of sites across the enclave, the GHF does so at four militarised sites, three of which are in the far south of the Gaza strip.
Thousands, and sometimes tens of thousands, of desperate Palestinians descend on the aid sites every day during the short windows in which they are open.
Last week, more than 100 International aid organisations, human rights groups and media outlets warned of mass starvation in Gaza.
The UN estimates 100,000 women and children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition, while the Hamas-run health ministry state dozens of Palestinians have died from hunger-related causes in the last three weeks.
It comes amid international condemnation of the starvation crisis in Gaza, and several states, including the UK, announced they would recognise a Palestinian state.
Sir Keir Starmer said that the UK could recognise a Palestinian state as soon as the UN General Assembly in September, unless Israel takes 'substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza'.
He said the Israeli government must reach a ceasefire, make clear there will be no annexation in the West Bank, and commit to a long-term peace process that delivers a two-state solution.