Trump sends Witkoff and Huckabee to inspect food distribution in Gaza
DEIR AL-BALAH Gaza Strip AP U S President Donald Trump s special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Israel on Thursday to discuss the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza as the death toll of Palestinians waiting for food and other aid continued to climb Witkoff and U S Ambassador Mike Huckabee will inspect food distribution in Gaza on Friday the White House noted At least Palestinians were killed and more than wounded while attempting to get aid in the past hours the Gaza Healthcare Ministry explained on Thursday The casualties included people killed while awaiting food in northern Gaza near the Zikim moving across on Wednesday the ministry noted The toll is expected to rise further as plenty of of those killed or wounded were brought to isolated undersupplied hospitals in northern Gaza and have not yet been counted Israel s military reported Palestinians surrounded aid trucks and the Israeli military fired warning shots into the crowd but revealed no awareness of injuries resulting from Israeli fire A defense official who spoke on the condition of anonymity in line with military regulations mentioned the gunfire came from within the crowd and resulted from altercations between Palestinians attempting to access aid Scramble for airdropped food Scenes of desperation and chaos played out again on Thursday as scores of Palestinians ran toward food aid dropped from the air in Zawaida a city in central Gaza Aid providers have turned to the skies as demarcation crossings remain closed amid severe food insecurity across the Gaza Strip The drops have set off stampedes and skirmishes as hungry crowds scream fight and jostle for the parcels Eslam al-Telbany a displaced woman from Jabalia disclosed she was carrying a bottle of cooking oil and a sack of flour when she was attacked and bitten ultimately dropping the items and returning home without aid I went and my children prayed that I d return with food They haven t eaten or drank anything for two days she declared as she wept Ahmed al-Khatib reported someone stole a bag of flour from him and he broke a tooth in the struggle Rana Attia another displaced woman mentioned people felt more dignified receiving text messages telling them where to collect aid rather than randomly chasing falling parcels under the scorching heat We don t want them to help us that way she explained Worst-case scenario Despite the airdrops the amount of aid getting into Gaza remains far lower than the to trucks per day that aid organizations say are needed The Israeli defense body in charge of coordinating humanitarian aid in Gaza commented trucks of aid entered Gaza on Wednesday and pallets of aid were airdropped into the Strip Under heavy international pressure Israel declared a series of measures over the weekend to facilitate the entry of more international aid to Gaza The international locality has heaped criticism on Israel over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza International organizations explained that Gaza has been on the brink of famine for the past two years but that latest developments including a complete blockade on aid for months mean that the worst-case scenario of famine is in the present playing out in Gaza Israel criticised by allies German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul arrived in Israel on Thursday on a two-day trip that will also take him to the Israeli-occupied West Bank Germany traditionally a staunch ally of Israel has been increasingly critical not long ago of Israel s actions in Gaza It has insisted that Israel must do more to increase aid supplies and pushed for a ceasefire Berlin hasn t joined major allies France Britain and Canada in saying it will recognize a Palestinian state in September But in a declaration ahead of his departure Thursday Wadephul underlined Germany s position that a two-state key is the only way to ensure a future in peace and precaution for people on both sides For Germany the recognition of a Palestinian state stands rather at the end of the process But such a process must begin now Germany will not move from this aim Wadephul announced A diplomatic push Witkoff Trump s special envoy arrived in Israel on Thursday afternoon and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the humanitarian situation and a doable ceasefire according to an official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters It was the first meeting between Witkoff and Netanyahu since both Israel and the U S called their negotiation teams home from Qatar one week ago Witkoff stated at the time that Hamas shows a lack of desire to reach a truce The fastest way to end the Humanitarian Crises in Gaza is for Hamas to SURRENDER AND RELEASE THE HOSTAGES Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform Thursday morning Trump sent Witkoff to the region in an effort to save lives and end this situation White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt declared calling the president a humanitarian with a big heart The war started when Hamas attacked southern Israel on Oct killing around people and abducting others They still hold hostages including around thought to be alive The greater part of the others have been disclosed in ceasefires or other deals Israel s retaliatory offensive has killed more than Palestinians according to Gaza s Medical Ministry Its count doesn t distinguish between militants and civilians The ministry operates under the Hamas governing body The U N and other international organizations see it as the bulk reliable source of records on casualties
