Trump envoy visits controversial Gaza aid distribution site
- Steve Witkoff, the Middle East envoy for US President Donald Trump, visited a controversial aid site in Gaza.
- This was his first visit to the site.
Witkoff said he wanted to show Trump the humanitarian situation. He aims to help create a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza.
This visit comes after reports of deadly shootings at GHF points. The UN reports that at least 859 Palestinians have been killed near these sites, but the GHF disagrees with this number.
Israel says its troops have only fired warning shots and that they do not intentionally shoot civilians.
International journalists, including the BBC, are blocked by Israel from entering Gaza independently, making it difficult to verify claims.
The BBC understands Witkoff visited one of the GHF sites near Rafah in southern Gaza on Friday.
He was accompanied by US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and the Israel Defence Forces (IDF). Posting on X afterwards, alongside pictures of their visit, Witkoff said, “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 said they had received “briefings from the IDF and spoke to folks on the ground. “day,”
He claimed GHF sites were delivering “more than one million meals a day”, calling it an “incredible feat.”
The GHF stated that it had delivered 1.3 million meals across three distribution sites on Thursday. It has not yet released figures for Friday. The UN states that the number of meals provided by the GHF falls significantly short of overall nutritional requirements.
Some Gazans who spoke to the BBC denounced Witkoff’s visit as a “media stunt.”
Louay Mahmoud, who lives in Gaza, said, “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.”
Amer Khayrat, a father of two who lives 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.”
Oxfam’s Americas director of peace and security, Scott Paul, said Witkoff and Huckabee during their visit would have been “confronted by scenes of countless Palestinian children and their families on the brink of starvation displaced in flattened communities outside their convoy windows.”
He added, “This must be what finally spurs the US to use its full influence to put an end to this catastrophe before we pass the point of no return.”
Former US State Department official Annelle Sheline, who resigned from her role in protest at Joe Biden’s policies towards Gaza last year, said Witkoff and Huckabee’s visit was a “glorified photo-op, meant to obscure the reality of a dire humanitarian crisis that America has helped to author.”
A retired US special forces officer who worked at GHF centers told the BBC last week he witnessed IDF troops and US contractors shooting at crowds of Palestinians near sites he worked at.
Lt. Col. Anthony Aguilar, a special forces veteran of the US Army’s Green Berets, said 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 called Aguilar’s allegations “categorically false,” describing him as a “disgruntled former contractor who was terminated for misconduct,” which he denies.
A retired US special forces officer who worked at GHF centers told the BBC last week he witnessed IDF troops and US contractors shooting at crowds of Palestinians near sites he worked at.
Lt. Col. Anthony Aguilar, a special forces veteran of the US Army’s Green Berets, said 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 called Aguilar’s allegations “categorically false and misconduct,” describing him as a “disgruntled former contractor who was terminated for misconduct,” which he denies.
🧭 Overview of the Visit
- Steve Witkoff, the U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East under President Trump, and U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee became the first senior U.S. officials to enter the Gaza Strip since the war began, visiting a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF)–operated aid center near Rafah on August 1, 2025. The Guardian + 15nhpr.org + 15kuow.org + 15.
- They spent over five hours inside Gaza, meeting with GHF leaders and other agencies to assess conditions and work on drafting a food and medical aid delivery plan for President Trump’s review eawaz.com+1dropsitenews.com+1.
🎯 Witkoff’s Stated Aims
- The stated objective was to provide Trump with a clear understanding of Gaza’s humanitarian crisis, observe GHF operations firsthand, and play a role in shaping a new U.S. aid distribution strategy. eawaz.comnhpr.orgynetnews.
- The plan includes delivering food and medical assistance coordinated with GHF and IDF support Omni+15nhpr.org+15Wikipedia+15.
📦 Aid Delivery Figures & Criticism of GHF
- GHF claims it delivered more than one million meals per day, with recent figures reporting 1.3 million meals distributed across three sites on the preceding Thursday ideastream.org+3eawaz.com+3kuow.org+3.
- However, the UN warns this aid volume is far below Gazans’ actual nutritional needs and has characterized the situation as a growing famine; only roughly 100 aid trucks enter Gaza daily—well under the required 600–700. Wikipedia + 15 Financial Times + 15 The Business Standard + 15.
- Expert commentary, including from Human Rights Watch and analysts like Alex de Waal, criticizes GHF’s system as militarized, inefficient, unsafe, and serving more as political cover than genuine humanitarian relief. The Guardian.
⚠️ Violence at Distribution Sites
- Since GHF began operations in late May 2025, the UN and local health officials report over 1,000 Palestinian deaths near GHF food distribution sites, attributed mainly to Israeli military fire. The Business Standard, Wikipedia, Asharq Al-Awsat.
- Specific incidents include shootings and crowd crushes in Rafah in late May and multiple deaths while queuing for aid in early August (tribune.com.pk+5Wikipedia+5Wikipedia+5).
- Israel insists its forces fired only warning shots and denies targeting civilians intentionally; GHF denies fatalities at its sites, blaming other factors. Wikipedia+4eawaz.com+4Asharq Al-Awsat+4.
📣 Voices from Gaza and Aid Groups
- Some Gazan residents labeled the visit a “media stunt,” arguing it allowed Witkoff to see only the curated narrative Israel presented. Residents emphasized their real needs: lifting the siege, halting bombing, and stopping U.S. backing of the war. The Business Standard + 4eawaz.com + 4ynetnews + 4.
- Aid organizations echoed such concerns:
- Oxfam: “Witkoff and Huckabee would have been confronted by scenes of countless Palestinian children … on the brink of starvation.” Arab News PK+6eawaz.com+6dropsitenews.com+6.
- Former U.S. State Department official Annelle Sheline called the visit a “glorified photo-op” aimed at obscuring the crisis America helped create. eawaz.com The Business Standard.
- Retired Green Beret Lt. Col. Anthony Aguilar, who served as a contractor at GHF sites, alleged witnessing “indiscriminate and unnecessary force against [a] civilian population”; GHF denied these claims, calling him “disgruntled.” eawaz.com Arab News PK.
- Oxfam: “Witkoff and Huckabee would have been confronted by scenes of countless Palestinian children … on the brink of starvation.” Arab News PK+6eawaz.com+6dropsitenews.com+6.
🥣 Starvation Crisis Deepens
- UN and aid experts warn that child malnutrition is skyrocketing, with over one-third of children in Gaza City acutely malnourished and over 20,000 in hospitals with severe cases Financial Times+1reuters.com+1.
- The IPC warned of a full-scale famine unfolding, with hunger-related deaths accelerating through July and August Financial Times.
- Aside from GHF figures, U.N. agencies and multiple aid groups stress that systemic aid access barriers, looting, violence, and insufficient daily convoy numbers are perpetuating the crisis reuters.com.
✅ Summary Table
| Area | Key Points |
| Visit Purpose | First U.S. envoy visit to Gaza; assess humanitarian situation and plan aid coordination |
| GHF Aid Numbers | Claims >1 million meals/day; critics say inadequate and nutritional value low |
| Fatalities | UN reports 1,000+ killed; Israel attributes to crowd control, denies intentional targeting |
| Criticism | Labelled unsafe, politicized, inaccessible to vulnerable groups |
| Public Sentiment | Some Gazans and officials call it staged propaganda; they demand that the siege be lifted and a ceasefire. |
| Humanitarian Risk | Malnutrition crisis unabated; famine risk mounting without substantial change in aid access |
🧩 Takeaway
While Witkoff’s visit marks a high-profile U.S. engagement with humanitarian operations in Gaza, the context remains dire. Critics argue that GHF’s model falls short of international humanitarian standards, with reports of ongoing deaths near distribution points and inadequate nutritional aid. Many view the visit as a symbolic gesture rather than meaningful relief, calling for urgent operational changes, a full-fledged ceasefire, and lifting of the blockade.
