Washington – Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and the United States ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee will go to the Gaza Strip on Friday, the White House announced, a major decision while Israel continues in the international mounting pressure to allow increased enclosure aid.
“Tomorrow, Special Witkoff Envoy And Ambassador Huckabee will travel to Gaza to inspect current distribution sites and ensure a plan to deliver more food and meet local Gazans to hear this disastrous situation on the ground, “said the White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, during Thursday’s press briefing.
The journey comes as an increased number of people in Gaza die from malnutrition, which prompted more nations to ask Israel to address the humanitarian situation. Leavitt said that US officials would work on an additional food and aid distribution plan.
“The special envoy and the ambassador will inform the president immediately after their visit to approve a final food and aid distribution plan in the region, and we will provide more details to all of you once the plan is approved and agreed by the President of the United States,” she said during the briefing.
Witkoff went to Israel overnight and met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday in Jerusalem to approach the humanitarian situation. President Donald Trump said earlier this week that Israel “had a lot of responsibility for the flow of aid”, stressing that his government could considerably expand access to food.
Israel announced on Sunday a “tactical break” in military operations in Gaza, intensifying efforts to provide humanitarian aid to civilians. Netanyahu said on Monday that his government would work with international agencies, as well as with the American and European nations, to ensure that large amounts of aid enter the Gaza Strip.
In recent days, Trump has weighed on the hunger crisis, saying, “We have to have children feeded.” He said there was a “real famine” in Gaza, comments which were taken up by vice-president JD Vance, who said that the administration was “very worried about the humanitarian problem in Gaza”.
The president also said this week that the United States, alongside international partners, would help finance and create food centers in Gaza.
Many Democratic legislators and some Republicans have also expressed their concern about the situation and push the Trump administration to help negotiate a cease-fire agreement. Witkoff withdrawn the American Doha negotiation team in Qatar last week after declaring that Hamas showed “a lack of desire” to conclude an agreement.
More than 120 people in Gaza have died of malnutrition since the start of the war, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza managed by Hamas. The integrated classification of the food security phase has declared in recent days that “the worst case of famine is currently taking place in the Gaza Strip”.
An increasing number of countries are increasingly condemning the humanitarian situation in Gaza, and the United Kingdom, France and Canada said they planned to recognize a Palestinian state this fall. The office of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that he would recognize a Palestinian state unless Israel “takes substantial measures to end the appalling situation in Gaza”.
“The president expressed his dissatisfaction and his disagreement with the leaders of France, the United Kingdom and Canada,” Leavitt said during the briefing. “He has the impression that this is enriching in Hamas at a time when Hamas is the real obstacle to a cease-fire and the release of all hostages.”
