By WAFAA SHURAFA, SAM METZ and JULIA FRANKEL, Associated Press
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff visited southern Gaza on Friday amid international outrage over starvation, shortages and deadly chaos near aid distribution sites.
With food scarce and parcels being airdropped, Witkoff and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee toured one of Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s distribution sites in Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city. Chapin Fay, the group’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. Hundreds have been killed by either gunfire or trampling.
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.
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 Witkoff was sent to craft a plan to boost food and aid deliveries, while 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 U.S. 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 airstrikes, the officials said. Israel’s military did not immediately comment.
Human Rights Watch: ‘Near impossible’
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 a 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.
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 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 setup “a flawed, militarized 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, 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.
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 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.
International condemnations have mounted as such reports trickle out of Gaza, including from aid organizations that previously oversaw distribution.
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.
German foreign minister visits occupied West Bank
Some of Israel’s traditional allies have moved toward recognizing 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, the country’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, Germany’s foreign minister called on Israel to be open to making peace and said Hamas militants should lay down their weapons and release the hostages.
Speaking in the Christian-majority village of Taybeh, Wadephul called Israeli settlements in the West Bank a key obstacle to a two-state solution. He condemned settler violence and destruction, and criticized 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 Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked southern Israel, 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 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.
Metz reported from Jerusalem and Frankel from Tel Aviv, Israel.
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