Witkoff visit comes as Israel faces mounting pressure over starvation in Gaza

Hugo Bachega

Middle East correspondent, in Jerusalem

Steve Witkoff’s visit to Israel and Gaza comes as Israel faces growing international isolation over the starvation crisis in the Gaza Strip, with images of emaciated children and accounts of Palestinians starving to death sparking global outrage.

Polls around the world suggest that public opinion is increasingly negative about Israel, which is putting pressure on leaders to act. According to Pew research, external published last month, before the crisis in Gaza worsened, in 20 of 24 countries surveyed, around half of adults or more had an unfavourable view of Israel – including the US.

In recent days, even some MAGA Republicans, the heart of President Trump’s base, have publicly voiced opposition to America’s support for Israel. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has described Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide, an accusation that Israel has always strongly rejected. However, human rights groups, including two leading organisations based in Israel, and a growing number of experts are describing Israel’s actions in Gaza as such.

The UN, aid agencies and even some of Israel’s allies blame its restrictions on the entry and distribution of aid for the hunger crisis in Gaza. Israel has categorically rejected the allegations and has also denied that starvation is happening in the territory, despite mounting evidence.

Israel had blocked the entry of all humanitarian aid into Gaza between March and May, in what was then described by Israeli authorities as a strategy to put pressure on Hamas to agree to a ceasefire and hostage release deal, which did not happen. It was accused of using food as a weapon and a war crime, which it also denied.

Then, Israel created a controversial new system for the distribution of supplies, through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which requires people to walk to a handful of militarised hubs, often at great risk. It said the system, which largely bypassed the UN and other agencies with decades of experience, was needed to prevent the large-scale diversion of aid by Hamas, although it has never provided evidence of that.

The UN has described the mechanism as insufficient and inhumane, calling it “death traps”: it says more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid under the system.

President Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee visited southern Gaza on Friday amid international outrage over starvation, aid shortages and deadly chaos near aid distribution sites.

Witkoff and Huckabee toured one of the privately run U.S. and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s distribution sites, Huckabee said.

The aim of the visit was “to learn the truth” about GHF sites, Huckabee wrote in a social media post.

“We received briefings from (the IDF) and spoke to folks on the ground. GHF delivers more than one million meals a day, an incredible feat!” Huckabee said.

A photo shared on social media by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff shows him and Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee visiting an aid distribution site in Gaza on Friday, August 1, 2025. Steve Witkoff

Witkoff and Huckabee visited a GHF site in Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, according to an official involved with the visit. The official requested anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

“Today, we spent over five hours inside Gaza – level setting the facts on the ground, assessing conditions, and meeting with

(GHF) and other agencies. The purpose of the visit was to give (President Trump) a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza,” Witkoff said on social media.

Mr. Trump “sent his envoy to serve as his eyes and ears on the ground, reflecting his deep concern and commitment to doing what’s right,” GHF spokesperson Chapin Fay said in a statement. “We were honored to brief his delegation, share our operations, and demonstrate the impact of delivering 100 million meals to those who need them most.”

All four of the group’s distribution sites are in zones controlled by the Israeli military. Throughout their months in operation, these sites have become flashpoints of desperation, with mass crowds of people gathering outside but who have then come under fire from Israeli forces or been trampled in the resulting crush.

The Israeli military says it has only fired warning shots at people who approach its forces, and GHF says its armed contractors have only used pepper spray or fired warning shots to control crowds. But there has been a persistent pattern of people being killed by Israeli gunfire and even heavier weapons around the G.H.F. sites over the past five months, with the death toll in the hundreds.

Witkoff’s visit comes a week after U.S. officials walked away from ceasefire talks in Qatar, blaming Hamas and pledging to seek other ways to rescue Israeli hostages and make Gaza safe.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that he was sent to craft a plan to boost food and aid deliveries as part of an effort “to save lives and end this crisis,” while Mr. Trump wrote on social media that the fastest way to end the crisis would be for Hamas to surrender and release hostages.

International organizations have said Gaza has been on the brink of famine for the past two years. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, the leading international authority on food crises, said recent developments, including Israel’s complete blockade on aid for 2 1/2 months, mean the “worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in Gaza.”

Though the flow of aid has resumed, including via airdrops, the amount getting into Gaza remains far lower than what aid organizations say is needed. A security breakdown in the territory has made it nearly impossible to safely deliver food to starving Palestinians; much of the limited aid entering is hoarded and later sold at exorbitant prices.

In a report issued Friday, Human Rights Watch called it “a flawed, militarized aid distribution system that has turned aid distributions into regular bloodbaths.”

Israel’s military and the prime minister’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the report.

A July 30 video published Thursday by the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs showed an aid convoy driving past a border crossing as gunfire ricocheted off the ground near where crowds congregated.

“We were met on the road by tens of thousands of hungry and desperate people who directly offloaded everything from the backs of our trucks,” said Olga Cherevko, an OCHA staff member.

The war between Israel and Hamas started when Hamas attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and abducting 251 others. They still hold 50 hostages, including around 20 believed to be alive. Most of the others have been released in ceasefires or other deals.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry. Its count doesn’t distinguish between militants and civilians. The ministry operates under the Hamas government. The U.N. and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.

contributed to this report.

By WAFAA SHURAFA, SAM METZ and JULIA FRANKEL, Associated Press

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump’s Mideast envoy on Friday visited a food distribution site in the Gaza Strip operated by an Israeli-backed American contractor whose efforts to deliver food to the hunger-stricken territory have been marred by violence and controversy.

International experts warned this week that a “worst-case scenario of famine” is playing out in Gaza. Israel’s nearly 22-month military offensive against Hamas has shattered security in the territory of some 2 million Palestinians and made it nearly impossible to safely deliver food to starving people. Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.

Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee toured a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution site in Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, which has been almost completely destroyed and is now a largely depopulated Israeli military zone.

Hundreds of people have been killed by Israeli fire while heading to such aid sites since May, according to witnesses, health officials and the U.N. human rights office. Israel and GHF say they have only fired warning shots and that the toll has been exaggerated.

In a report issued Friday, the New York-based Human Rights Watch said GHF was at the heart of a “flawed, militarized aid distribution system that has turned aid distributions into regular bloodbaths.”

This handout photo from US Embassy Jerusalem shows White House special envoy Steve Witkoff, center, and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, center left, visiting a food distribution site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a U.S.-backed organization approved by Israel, in Gaza City, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. (David Azaguri/US Embassy Jerusalem via AP)

Palestinians mourn around the body of a man killed while trying to reach aid trucks entering northern Gaza through the Zikim crossing with Israel, at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Thursday, July 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Humanitarian aid is airdropped to Palestinians over Zawaida, central Gaza Strip Thursday, July 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Nabila Al Shaer, center, mourns the body of her son, Jamil Al Shaer, 21, who was killed while trying to receive aid from the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in Netzarim, in the central Gaza Strip, at Al-Aqsa Hospital, Thursday, July 31, 2025.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Mourners attend the funeral of their relatives killed in an Israeli bombardment, in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Thursday, July 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Smoke rises amid destroyed buildings following an Israeli shelling in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

White House special envoy Steve Witkoff waits for the arrival of President Donald Trump at Teterboro Airport in Teterboro, N.J., en route to attend the Club World Cup final soccer match, Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Show Caption 1 of 7 This handout photo from US Embassy Jerusalem shows White House special envoy Steve Witkoff, center, and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, center left, visiting a food distribution site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a U.S.-backed organization approved by Israel, in Gaza City, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. (David Azaguri/US Embassy Jerusalem via AP) Expand

Hundreds have been killed seeking food

Witkoff posted on X that he had spent over five hours inside Gaza in order to gain “a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza.”

Chapin Fay, a spokesperson for GHF, said the visit reflected Trump’s understanding of the stakes and that “feeding civilians, not Hamas, must be the priority.” The group says it has delivered over 100 million meals since it began operations in May.

All four of the group’s sites established in May are in zones controlled by the Israeli military and have become flashpoints of desperation, with starving people scrambling for scarce aid.

Over 1,000 people have been killed by Israeli fire since May while seeking aid in the territory, most near the GHF sites but also near United Nations aid convoys, the U.N. human rights office said last month.

The Israeli military says it has only fired warning shots at people who approach its forces, and GHF says its armed contractors have only used pepper spray or fired warning shots to prevent deadly crowding.

Officials at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza said Friday they received the bodies of 13 people who were killed while trying to get aid, including near the site that U.S. officials visited. GHF denied anyone was killed at their sites on Friday and said most recent shootings had occurred near U.N. aid convoys.

Another 12 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes, the hospital said.

The Israeli military said its forces had fired warning shots hundreds of meters (yards) away from the aid site at people it described as suspects and said had ignored orders to distance themselves from its forces. It said it was not aware of any casualties but was still investigating.

Witkoff’s visit comes a week after U.S. officials walked away from ceasefire talks in Qatar, blaming Hamas and pledging to seek other ways to rescue Israeli hostages and make Gaza safe. Trump wrote on social media that the fastest way to end the crisis would be for Hamas to surrender and release hostages.

Human Rights Watch slams Israeli-backed aid system

Human Rights Watch said in its report that “it would be near impossible for Palestinians to follow the instructions issued by GHF, stay safe, and receive aid, particularly in the context of ongoing military operations.” It cited doctors, aid seekers and at least one GHF security contractor.

Building on previous accounts, it described how thousands of Palestinians gather near the sites at night before they open. As they head to the sites on foot, Israeli forces control their movements by opening fire toward them. Once inside the sites, they race for aid in a frenzied fee-for-all, with weaker and more vulnerable people coming away with nothing, the rights group said.

Responding to the report, Israel’s military accused Hamas of sabotaging the aid distribution system, without providing evidence. It said it was working to make the routes under its control safer for those traveling to aid sites. GHF did not immediately respond to questions about the report.

The group has never allowed journalists to visit their sites and Israel’s military has barred reporters from independently entering Gaza throughout the war.

At a Friday press conference in Gaza City, representatives of the territory’s influential tribes accused Israel of empowering factions that loot aid sites and implored Witkoff to stay in Gaza to witness life firsthand. Israel denies aiding looters but says it backs factions that are opposed to Hamas.

“We want the American envoy to come and live among us in these tents where there is no water, no food and no light,” they said. “Our children are hungry in the streets.”

German foreign minister visits West Bank to highlight settler violence

Germany’s foreign minister visited Taybeh in the occupied West Bank, a Palestinian Christian village that has seen recent attacks by Israeli settlers. Johann Wadephul said Israel’s settlements are an obstacle to peace and condemned settler violence. He also called on Hamas to lay down its arms in Gaza and release the remaining hostages.

Germany has thus far declined to join other major Western countries in announcing plans to recognize a Palestinian state.

Palestinians in another nearby town laid to rest 45-year-old Khamis Ayad, who they say suffocated while extinguishing fires set by settlers during an attack the night before. Witnesses said Israeli forces fired live rounds and tear gas toward residents after the settlers attacked.

Israel’s military said police were investigating the incident. They said security forces found Hebrew graffiti and a burnt vehicle at the scene but had not detained any suspects.

There has been a rise in settler attacks, as well as Palestinian attacks on Israelis and large-scale Israeli military operations in the occupied West Bank since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack out of Gaza triggered the war there.

Hamas-led terrorists killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, that day and abducted 251 others. They still hold 50 hostages, including around 20 believed to be alive. Most of the others have been released in ceasefires or other deals.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Its count doesn’t distinguish between combatants and civilians. The ministry operates under the Hamas government. The U.N. and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.

Metz reported from Jerusalem and Frankel from Tel Aviv, Israel.

US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff visited southern Gaza, amid international outrage over starvation, shortages and deadly chaos near aid distribution sites.

With food scarce and parcels being airdropped, Mr Witkoff and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee toured one of Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s (GHF) distribution sites in Rafah, on Friday.

Chapin Fay, the group’s spokesperson, said the visit reflected Mr Trump’s understanding of the stakes and that “feeding civilians, not Hamas, must be the priority”.

All four of the group’s sites are in zones controlled by the Israeli military and have become flashpoints of desperation during their months of operation, with starving people scrambling for scarce aid.

Hundreds have been killed by either gunfire or trampling.

The Israeli military said it had only fired warning shots at people who approach its forces, and the GHF said its armed contractors have only used pepper spray or fired warning shots to prevent deadly crowding.

Gazans call GHF aid sites cemeteries Photo shows A small boy holds a white sack over his right shoulder while people walk past on a dusty road between tents. Gazans say they have to risk their lives in the hope of collecting aid at sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, where nearly 800 people have been shot and killed.

Mr Witkoff’s visit comes a week after US officials walked away from ceasefire talks in Qatar, blaming Hamas and pledging to seek other ways to rescue Israeli hostages and make Gaza safe.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday that Mr Witkoff was sent to craft a plan to boost food and aid deliveries, while Mr Trump wrote on social media that the fastest way to end the crisis would be for Hamas to surrender and release hostages.

Officials at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza said they have received the bodies of 25 people, including 13 who were killed while trying to get aid, including near the site that US officials visited.

GHF denied anyone was killed at their sites on Friday and said most recent incidents had taken place near United Nations aid convoys.

The remaining 12 were killed in air strikes, the officials said. Israel’s military did not immediately comment.

‘Turned aid distributions into regular bloodbaths’

International organisations have said Gaza has been on the brink of famine for the past two years. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, the leading international authority on food crises, said recent developments, including a complete blockade on aid for two and a half months, mean the “worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in Gaza.”

Though the flow of aid has resumed, including via airdrops, the amount getting into Gaza remains far lower than what aid organisations say is needed.

Aid packages dropped from an airplane descend over Gaza on July 31, 2025. (Reuters: Hatem Khaled)

A security breakdown in the territory has made it nearly impossible to safely deliver food to starving Palestinians, much of the limited aid entering is hoarded and later sold at exorbitant prices.

At a press conference in Gaza City, representatives of the territory’s influential tribes accused Israel of empowering factions that loot aid sites and implored Mr Witkoff to stay several hours in Gaza to witness life firsthand.

” We want the American envoy to come and live among us in these tents where there is no water, no food and no light,” they said. “Our children are hungry in the streets. ”

In a report issued Friday, Human Rights Watch called the current set-up “a flawed, militarised aid distribution system that has turned aid distributions into regular bloodbaths.”

“It would be near impossible for Palestinians to follow the instructions issued by GHF, to stay safe, and receive aid, particularly in the context of ongoing military operations, Israeli military sanctioned curfews, and frequent GHF messages saying that people should not travel to the sites before the distribution window opens,” the report said.

It cited doctors, aid seekers and at least one security contractor.

The GHF opened its aid sites in Gaza in May. (Supplied: GHF)

Since the group’s operations began in late May, hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in shootings by Israeli soldiers while on roads heading to the sites, according to witnesses and health officials.

The Israeli military has said its troops have only fired warning shots to control crowds.

Responding to the report, Israel’s military blamed Hamas for sabotaging the aid distribution system but said it was working to make the routes under its control safer for those travelling to aid sites.

GHF did not immediately respond to questions about the report.

Aussie doctor returns from Gaza volunteering Photo shows Woman with red hair and glasses looking at camera Perth anaesthetist Emma Giles, who spent four weeks at Al-Quds hospital in Gaza City, says the lack of food impacts every aspect of life in the strip.

The group has never allowed journalists to visit their sites and Israel’s military has barred reporters from independently entering Gaza throughout the war.

International condemnations have mounted as such reports trickle out of Gaza, including from aid organisations that previously oversaw distribution.

A video published on Thursday by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) showed an aid convoy driving past a border crossing as gunfire ricocheted off the ground near where crowds congregated.

“We were met on the road by tens of thousands of hungry and desperate people who directly offloaded everything from the backs of our trucks,” said Olga Cherevko, an OCHA staff member.

German foreign minister visits occupied West Bank

Some of Israel’s traditional allies have moved toward recognising Palestinian statehood hoping to revive prospects of a two-state solution. Germany has thus far refrained from doing so.

On a tour in the occupied West Bank, Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, called on Israel to be open to making peace and said Hamas militants should lay down their weapons and release the hostages.

Albanese talks Palestine Photo shows Albanese looks up while standing at a lectern, an Australian flag behind him. Australia won’t be dictated to on when the nation will decide to recognise a Palestinian state, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese tells 7.30.

Speaking in the Christian-majority village of Taybeh, Mr Wadephul called Israeli settlements in the West Bank a key obstacle to a two-state solution.

He condemned settler violence and destruction, and criticised the Israeli military for failing to do more to prevent the attacks.

The frequency of settler attacks in the West Bank have increased since the war between Israel and Hamas began, according to the United Nations. The conflict erupted on October 7 2023, when Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and abducting 251 others.

Hamas still hold 50 hostages, including around 20 believed to be alive. Most of the others have been released in ceasefires or other deals.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Its count doesn’t distinguish between militants and civilians. The ministry operates under the Hamas government.

The UN and other international organisations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.

AP

President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Israel and has crossed into Gaza. As the humanitarian crisis deepens, the White House sends a clear message: more aid is coming.

Witkoff, a real estate developer-turned-envoy, arrived in Israel on Thursday, July 31, and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the humanitarian crisis. He then made a rare crossing into southern Gaza, alongside U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee.

This morning I joined @SEPeaceMissions Steve Witkoff for a visit to Gaza to learn the truth about @GHFUpdates aid sites. We received briefings from @IDF and spoke to folks on the ground. GHF delivers more than one million meals a day, an incredible feat! pic.twitter.com/GyVK5cwNgZ — Ambassador Mike Huckabee (@USAmbIsrael) August 1, 2025

Following his arrival, Trump shared a post on Truth Social saying, “The fastest way to end the Humanitarian Crises in Gaza is for Hamas to SURRENDER AND RELEASE THE HOSTAGES!!!”

Hunger crisis in Gaza

The White House said Huckabee and Witkoff will tour aid distribution sites in Rafah and meet directly with Palestinians. They are also working to finalize a new plan to increase food availability in the strip.

Witkoff will likely brief Trump immediately after the visit, and officials plan to announce an aid package on Friday.

The visit comes after at least 91 people were killed while attempting to get aid, 54 of whom were killed while waiting to get food. Another 600 were wounded.

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CBS reports the death toll will likely rise, as rescuers continue bringing victims to isolated, smaller hospitals in northern Gaza, where staff have yet to account for patients and casualties. These deaths come on top of dozens more since the beginning of July.

Israel denied responsibility, saying its troops only fired warning shots and blamed the gunfire within the crowd.

Still, video shows rescuers hauling wounded Palestinians away in carts as hospitals quickly become overwhelmed.

Discussing a ceasefire

Witkoff’s trip marks the first direct talks with Netanyahu since truce negotiations collapsed last week. It also comes as the U.S. ramps up pressure on both Israel and Hamas to reach a deal and end the war.

An official who spoke on the condition of anonymity told The Associated Press that Witkoff is expected to discuss a possible ceasefire between Israel and Hamas with Netanyahu.