US special envoy Witkoff visits food distribution centre in Gaza
Israel's near 22-month military offensive against Hamas has shattered security in the territory of some 2.0 million Palestinians and made it nearly impossible to safely deliver food to starving people.
Envoy Steve Witkoff and the US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, toured a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) 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 UN human rights office.
Israel and GHF say they have only fired warning shots and that the toll has been exaggerated.
In a report issued on Friday, the New York-based Human Rights Watch said GHF was at the heart of a 'flawed, militarised aid distribution system that has turned aid distributions into regular bloodbaths.'
Mr Witkoff posted on X that he had spent more than 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 Mr Trump's understanding of the stakes and that 'feeding civilians, not Hamas, must be the priority'.
The group said 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.
More 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 UN 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 on Friday they received the bodies of 13 people 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 shootings had occurred near UN aid convoys.
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.
Mr Trump wrote on social media that the fastest way to end the crisis would be for Hamas to surrender and release hostages.
The war was triggered when Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, on October 7 2023 and abducted 251 others.
They still hold 50 hostages, including about 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 does not 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.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Glasgow Times
17 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Swinney welcomes bringing Gaza children to UK but ‘regrets' it wasn't sooner
Mr Swinney welcomed reported plans that up to 300 children could be flown from Gaza to be treated on the NHS. But he said he regretted the action did not come sooner. The SNP leader said he had written to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer on July 9 urging such action to be taken. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (Anthony Upton/PA) He said: 'We have been consistently clear that the suffering being inflicted on the people of Gaza is beyond any justification. 'People in Gaza are being bombed and left to starve by Israel on a massive scale. 'I wrote to the Prime Minister on 9 July to request support from the UK Government in meeting the call from Unicef to provide medical care for children from Gaza. 'If the UK Government is prepared to evacuate Palestinians for medical treatment it would be entirely welcome. 'My only regret is the UK Government has taken this long to act. 'I urge the UK Government to do everything in its power to move swiftly so that lives can be saved. And Scotland will play our part.' The evacuation plans are reportedly set to be announced within weeks. A parent or guardian will accompany each child, as well as siblings if necessary, and the Home Office will carry out biometric and security checks before travel, the Sunday Times reported. This will happen 'in parallel' with an initiative by Project Pure Hope, a group set up to bring sick and injured Gazan children to the UK privately for treatment. More than 50,000 children are estimated to have been killed or injured in Gaza since October 2023, according to Unicef. Sir Keir said last week that the UK was 'urgently accelerating' efforts to bring children over for treatment. A UK Government spokesperson said: 'We are taking forward plans to evacuate more children from Gaza who require urgent medical care, including bringing them to the UK for specialist treatment where that is the best option for their care. 'We are working at pace to do so as quickly as possible, with further details to be set out in due course.'
Rhyl Journal
17 minutes ago
- Rhyl Journal
Swinney welcomes bringing Gaza children to UK but ‘regrets' it wasn't sooner
Mr Swinney welcomed reported plans that up to 300 children could be flown from Gaza to be treated on the NHS. But he said he regretted the action did not come sooner. The SNP leader said he had written to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer on July 9 urging such action to be taken. He said: 'We have been consistently clear that the suffering being inflicted on the people of Gaza is beyond any justification. 'People in Gaza are being bombed and left to starve by Israel on a massive scale. 'I wrote to the Prime Minister on 9 July to request support from the UK Government in meeting the call from Unicef to provide medical care for children from Gaza. 'If the UK Government is prepared to evacuate Palestinians for medical treatment it would be entirely welcome. 'My only regret is the UK Government has taken this long to act. 'I urge the UK Government to do everything in its power to move swiftly so that lives can be saved. And Scotland will play our part.' The evacuation plans are reportedly set to be announced within weeks. A parent or guardian will accompany each child, as well as siblings if necessary, and the Home Office will carry out biometric and security checks before travel, the Sunday Times reported. This will happen 'in parallel' with an initiative by Project Pure Hope, a group set up to bring sick and injured Gazan children to the UK privately for treatment. More than 50,000 children are estimated to have been killed or injured in Gaza since October 2023, according to Unicef. Sir Keir said last week that the UK was 'urgently accelerating' efforts to bring children over for treatment. A UK Government spokesperson said: 'We are taking forward plans to evacuate more children from Gaza who require urgent medical care, including bringing them to the UK for specialist treatment where that is the best option for their care. 'We are working at pace to do so as quickly as possible, with further details to be set out in due course.'
The Herald Scotland
26 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Swinney welcomes bringing Gaza children to UK but ‘regrets' it wasn't sooner
But he said he regretted the action did not come sooner. The SNP leader said he had written to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer on July 9 urging such action to be taken. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (Anthony Upton/PA) He said: 'We have been consistently clear that the suffering being inflicted on the people of Gaza is beyond any justification. 'People in Gaza are being bombed and left to starve by Israel on a massive scale. 'I wrote to the Prime Minister on 9 July to request support from the UK Government in meeting the call from Unicef to provide medical care for children from Gaza. 'If the UK Government is prepared to evacuate Palestinians for medical treatment it would be entirely welcome. 'My only regret is the UK Government has taken this long to act. 'I urge the UK Government to do everything in its power to move swiftly so that lives can be saved. And Scotland will play our part.' The evacuation plans are reportedly set to be announced within weeks. A parent or guardian will accompany each child, as well as siblings if necessary, and the Home Office will carry out biometric and security checks before travel, the Sunday Times reported. This will happen 'in parallel' with an initiative by Project Pure Hope, a group set up to bring sick and injured Gazan children to the UK privately for treatment. More than 50,000 children are estimated to have been killed or injured in Gaza since October 2023, according to Unicef. Sir Keir said last week that the UK was 'urgently accelerating' efforts to bring children over for treatment. A UK Government spokesperson said: 'We are taking forward plans to evacuate more children from Gaza who require urgent medical care, including bringing them to the UK for specialist treatment where that is the best option for their care. 'We are working at pace to do so as quickly as possible, with further details to be set out in due course.'
