Trump envoy visits Gaza aid sites as starvation worsens
US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff visited food distribution sites in Gaza on Friday amid international outrage over worsening starvation and deadly chaos near aid sites in the enclave.
With food scarce and parcels being airdropped, Witkoff and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee toured one of the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's (GHF) distribution sites in Rafah, Gaza's southernmost city.
Chapin Fay, the GHF's spokesperson, said the visit reflected 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.
The United Nations (UN) says more than 1,000 people have been killed by Israeli forces while seeking food since late May, when the Israel- and US-backed GHF began operating.
Of those, hundreds have died near GHF sites, according to the UN. The GHF was created to replace the UN's aid role in Gaza and has been widely criticised for failing to improve conditions.
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.
It falls against the backdrop of man-made 'mass starvation' in Gaza due to the aid blockade on the enclave, the chief of the World Health Organisation warned reporters at a briefing on Wednesday.
'Parents tell us their children cry themselves to sleep from hunger,' Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. 'Food distribution sites have become places of violence.'
Scenes of desperation and chaos played out again on Friday as scores of Palestinians ran toward food aid dropped from the air in central Gaza.
Aid providers have turned to the skies as border crossings remain closed amid severe food insecurity across the Gaza Strip.
Despite the airdropped parcels, the amount getting into Gaza remains far lower than the 500 to 600 trucks per day that aid organisations say are needed.
The Israeli defence body in charge of coordinating humanitarian aid in Gaza said 270 trucks of aid entered Gaza on Wednesday, and 32 pallets of aid were airdropped into the Strip.
Israel claims its actions were sparked by Hamas's October 7, 2023, attacks, which saw around 1,200 people killed and 251 others abducted. Hamas still hold 50 hostages, including around 20 believed to be alive. Most of the others have been released in ceasefires or other deals.
The retaliatory offensive has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
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