U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Mike Huckabee visit aid distribution site in Gaza

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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.

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.

"President Trump understands the stakes in Gaza and that feeding civilians, not Hamas, must be the priority. Today he 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.

Haley Ott contributed to this report.

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