Trump envoy to witness starvation crisis ‘first-hand’ in Gaza visit

3 months ago 21

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US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Gaza to assess what the White House called a “dire” starvation crisis first-hand, and formulate a plan to deliver more food.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Witkoff and the US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee would enter Gaza on Friday, local time, following a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday.

Global pressure is mounting on Israel over starvation in Gaza.

They would inspect the current food and aid distribution sites and “secure a plan to deliver more food, and meet with local Gazans to hear first-hand about this dire situation on the ground”, she said.

Following that they would immediately brief Trump and approve a final plan for food and aid distribution to the region, Leavitt said.

Earlier, The New York Times reported Witkoff would visit an aid site managed by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Fund, an operation backed by the US government.

It marks a rare visit to the wartorn territory by a foreign official, although Witkoff visited Gaza in January to monitor a ceasefire that was in place at the time.

Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump’s US special envoy to the Middle East, will travel to Gaza on Friday.

It comes amid shifting international views on Israel’s operation in Gaza, with a growing consensus condemning the Netanyahu government over a starvation crisis that has killed 150 people, according to Gaza’s health ministry, in addition to the tens of thousands killed in the war.

In a rare break between the two leaders, Trump contradicted Netanyahu on the matter this week, saying there was “real starvation” happening in Gaza, despite Israel’s denials, and he had seen the heartbreaking images on television.

“President Trump is a humanitarian with a big heart,” Leavitt said. “That’s why he sent Special Envoy Witkoff to the region in an effort to save lives and end this crisis.”