Chicago – August 01, 2025
Steve Witkoff, the United States’ special envoy to the Middle East, visited a US-backed aid site in Gaza on Friday to learn more about the hunger crisis there. The visit comes after hundreds of Palestinians have died near three such food distribution sites in recent weeks as people try desperately to get food supplies.
Witkoff spent five hours inside Gaza to see the situation for himself. He plans to report what he learned to US President Donald Trump. Earlier this week, President Trump said that people in Gaza are facing “real starvation.” This statement is different from what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed about the crisis.
Trump told reporters, “I spoke to Steve Witkoff. He had a great meeting with a lot of people, and the main focus was on food. He also had other conversations, but it’s most important to get people fed, and that’s what we want.”
Witkoff and US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee visited an aid site in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza. This site is run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). GHF is one of only three active food sites in Gaza right now.
GHF was created to take over the United Nations’ job of handing out aid, after Israel said that UN aid was reaching Hamas. However, the new GHF group is being criticized because many people in Gaza are still going hungry, and the food crisis is getting worse.
The United Nations said it does not support the GHF and refuses to be involved. The UN argues that the GHF’s way of working does not follow important humanitarian rules. According to the UN, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli soldiers while trying to get food, with hundreds dying near GHF sites. GHF disagrees with these numbers.
For the past two months, the situation at GHF sites has been very dangerous and chaotic. Israeli soldiers have been seen firing toward crowds of Palestinians, and some people have died in the rush to get help.
