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Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, has made his first visit to a contentious aid distribution site in Gaza, backed by both Israel and the United States.
According to Witkoff, the purpose of his trip to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) site was to provide President Trump with “a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza.”
This visit comes amid reports of near-daily deadly shootings at GHF distribution points. The UN reports that at least 859 Palestinians have been killed in the vicinity of these sites, a figure disputed by the GHF.
Israel maintains that its troops have only fired warning shots and do not intentionally target civilians.
Sources confirm that Witkoff’s visit on Friday included a stop at a GHF site near Rafah in southern Gaza.
He was accompanied by US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and representatives of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
Following the visit, Witkoff posted on X, along with pictures, stating: “Today, we spent over five hours inside Gaza – level setting the facts on the ground, assessing conditions, and meeting with @GHFUpdates and other agencies.”
Huckabee noted that they received “briefings from the IDF and spoke to folks on the ground.”
He further claimed that GHF sites were delivering “more than one million meals a day,” describing it as an “incredible feat.”
The GHF reported delivering 1.3 million meals across three distribution sites on Thursday. Figures for Friday have not yet been released. The UN asserts that the number of meals provided by the GHF falls significantly short of the overall nutritional requirements.
Due to restrictions imposed by Israel, international journalists, including those from this outlet, are unable to enter Gaza independently, making it difficult to verify claims.
Some Gazans who spoke to this outlet described Witkoff’s visit as a “media stunt.”
Louay Mahmoud, a Gaza resident, stated: “Steve Witkoff won’t see the hunger, only the narrative Israel wants him to see.”
“This visit is a hollow media stunt, not a humanitarian mission. He comes with no solutions, only talking points designed to polish the image of an administration complicit in our suffering,” Mahmoud added.
Amer Khayrat, a father of two living in Gaza City, said: “What Gaza needs isn’t another envoy with a press team. We need the siege lifted, the bombing stopped, and the blind American support for this war brought to an end.”
A retired US special forces officer who previously worked at GHF centers told this outlet last week that he witnessed IDF troops and US contractors shooting at crowds of Palestinians near the sites where he was stationed.
Lt Col Anthony Aguilar, a special forces veteran of the US Army’s Green Berets, stated that he had never witnessed such a level of “brutality and use of indiscriminate and unnecessary force against a civilian population, an unarmed, starving population” in his entire career.
The GHF has dismissed Aguilar’s allegations as “categorically false,” describing him as a “disgruntled former contractor who was terminated for misconduct,” an accusation he denies.
On Friday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Israeli forces and US-backed contractors of establishing “a flawed, militarized aid distribution system that has turned aid distribution into regular bloodbaths.”
HRW called on Israeli authorities “to immediately stop using lethal force as crowd control against Palestinian civilians” and urged the US and Israel to suspend the operation.
The establishment of GHF aid sites in May, replacing the UN distribution mechanism, sparked international criticism. Israel accused Hamas of looting UN aid, a charge Hamas denies.
The four GHF sites are located within Israeli military zones and are operated by US private security contractors.
Eyewitnesses and medics have reported multiple instances of Israeli forces opening fire on crowds near the aid distribution points.
Additionally, UN agencies have warned of man-made, mass starvation occurring within the territory.
The UN’s human rights office (OCHR) stated on Thursday that at least 1,373 Palestinians had been killed while attempting to obtain food aid in Gaza, with 859 of those deaths occurring near GHF sites.
According to the OCHR, the majority of these deaths were attributed to the Israeli military. While acknowledging the presence of other armed groups in the area, the office stated that they “do not have information indicating their involvement in these killings.”
The office further stated that it had “no information that these Palestinians were directly participating in hostilities or posed any threat to Israeli security forces.”
Israel has accused Hamas of instigating chaos near the aid sites. The GHF rejected the UN’s figures when contacted for comment.
Meanwhile, the Hamas-run Civil Defence agency reports that at least 10 people have been killed in southern and central Gaza since dawn on Friday.
The figure includes eight people killed in two separate Israeli airstrikes targeting tents sheltering displaced people in Khan Younis in the south and Deir al-Balah in the center of the strip, according to the agency.
Two others were killed and at least 20 more injured when Israeli forces opened fire near an aid distribution point along the Morag corridor, north of Rafah, the civil defence added.
Local residents report that hundreds of people had gathered to receive food when the shooting began.
This outlet has reached out to the Israeli military for comment.
The Hamas-run health ministry reported on Friday that 82 people had been killed in Gaza in the past 24 hours, with 52 of them reportedly seeking aid.
Witkoff met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel on Thursday for what a US spokesperson described as “productive” talks.
According to Israeli media reports, discussions included a significant reformulation of ceasefire negotiations, potentially involving an “all-in deal” that would see all hostages held by Hamas released in a single exchange, alongside the complete disarmament of Hamas. Previously, hostages were to be released in phases.
Hamas has stated that it will not return to negotiations until more aid is allowed into Gaza to address starvation.
The US and Israel suspended ceasefire talks last week, accusing Hamas of lacking coordination and not negotiating in good faith.
Hamas has accused the Israeli side of intransigence regarding key points in the negotiations.
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