In the latest development in the Middle East crisis, US President Trump’s envoy to the region, Steve Witkoff, visited the southern city of Rafah in Gaza on Friday, August 1st to inspect the operations of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is supported by the United States. This visit marked the first time a high-ranking American official has visited the area since the outbreak of the conflict.
Shortly after Witkoff’s visit, Palestinian medical personnel reported that Israeli forces had opened fire at a location near the GHF site in Rafah, resulting in the deaths of three Palestinians. However, GHF denied any deadly incidents at their site.
GHF has been operating in Gaza since May this year, advocating for the swift delivery of food and medical supplies using resources from the United States. Spokesperson Chapin Fay stated, “President Trump understands that the key issue in Gaza is to feed the civilians, not Hamas.”
Fay shared on social media images from the scene showing Witkoff wearing a gray camouflage jacket, a bulletproof vest, and a baseball cap embroidered with the slogans “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) and “Trump,” interacting with local residents in need of food behind barbed wire, with a banner in the background stating “1 billion meals delivered.”
Accompanying the inspection was US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, who also posted photos and remarks from the site on social media platform X. GHF mentioned that on-site staff briefed the Trump delegation on the aid process in detail, emphasizing their ability to ensure the safe delivery of supplies more effectively than other organizations.
Prior to his visit to Gaza, Witkoff arrived in Israel and held talks with Israeli officials to push for a new round of ceasefire negotiations. He later mentioned on social media, “Following the President’s instructions, yesterday the US Ambassador to Israel and I met with Israeli officials to discuss the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Today, we spent over five hours in Gaza – assessing conditions, meeting with GHF and other organizations. The purpose of this trip is to provide the President with a clear understanding of the humanitarian conditions and assist in developing food and medical aid plans.”
The Israeli military recently announced taking various measures to expedite aid distribution, including localized ceasefire agreements, establishing secure passages, and initiating airdrop operations starting this week. However, the situation of inadequate aid distribution persists.
Since October 2023 when Hamas launched an attack in southern Israel, resulting in over 1,200 deaths and 251 individuals being abducted, the conflict has escalated, and Gaza officials report over 60,000 Palestinian deaths due to airstrikes. The recent worsening famine has led to dozens of deaths from malnutrition, as stated by medical personnel.
Israeli officials attribute the challenges in aid distribution to security checks, logistical restrictions, as well as cases of aid being seized by Hamas or diverted for military purposes. Some organizations lack unified management in the distribution and protection process, making it difficult for disaster victims to safely access aid.
(This article references reports from Reuters)