Trump envoy visits Gaza as starvation crisis sparks global outrage

US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, visited Gaza to assess the humanitarian situation as global condemnation intensifies over Israel’s aid blockade and reported starvation of Palestinians in the besieged enclave.

Witkoff, accompanied by US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, toured food distribution sites operated by the controversial US-and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF), which has been linked to over 1,000 Palestinian deaths since May, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

Huckabee said on social media that the visit aimed “to learn the truth” about GHF’s distribution activities. “Folks on the ground” and Israeli military officials briefed the delegation during their inspection.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on July 31 that Witkoff would “visit distribution sites and secure a plan to deliver more food and meet with local Gazans to hear firsthand about this dire situation on the ground.” She added, “The special envoy and the ambassador will brief the president immediately after their visit to approve a final plan for food and aid distribution into the region.”

The envoy’s visit came just one day after more than 50 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes, and health authorities reported the starvation deaths of two more children—bringing the total death toll from hunger to at least 154, including 89 children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

On August 1 alone, 37 more people were killed, including 12 aid seekers, and over 80 others were injured, many while waiting for food near Khan Younis.

Witkoff also met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu upon arrival, according to the Israeli leader’s office.

The visit follows a rare public rebuke from Trump, who contradicted Netanyahu’s denials about hunger in Gaza, stating the territory was facing “real starvation.”

Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Israel of committing a “war crime” through the deliberate starvation of civilians. “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 HRW’s Belkis Wille.

Martin Griffiths, former UN humanitarian chief, condemned the GHF system as a “catastrophe,” saying, “All of this is a deep betrayal of humanitarian values.”

By Vafa Guliyeva