Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s special envoy, will travel to Gaza on Friday amid growing warnings from aid groups that the population is on the verge of a starvation crisis.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Witkoff will be accompanied by Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel.
Leavitt said their mission includes assessing current aid distribution sites, developing a plan to expand food deliveries and meeting with Gazans to better understand conditions on the ground.
"The special envoy and the ambassador will brief the president to approve the final plan for food and aid distribution into the region," Leavitt said.
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More than 100 humanitarian organizations have warned that Gaza’s 2 million residents are facing a dire situation, with widespread hunger and malnutrition escalating rapidly due to limited access to aid.
In response to mounting international pressure and images of emaciated children, Israel recently announced a temporary daily pause in military operations to allow aid trucks to enter Gaza. The “tactical pause,” as officials described it, lasts 10 hours each day in three densely populated areas.
Israel has been at war with Hamas since the terrorist organization launched a deadly surprise attack on Oct. 7, 2023. The ongoing conflict has worsened the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with Israel restricting the number of aid trucks entering the territory, citing concerns that Hamas is diverting food and supplies meant for civilians.
The Trump administration has been working to ease the crisis, but ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas collapsed last week. U.S. officials blamed Hamas for failing to engage in negotiations in good faith.
