US President Donald Trump's special envoy to the Middle East has visited a food distribution center in the Gaza Strip run by an American contractor backed by Israel, whose efforts to deliver food to the famine-stricken territory have been hampered by violence and conflict.
This week, international experts warned of a “worst-case scenario for famine” in Gaza.
Israel's nearly 22-month military offensive against Hamas has undermined security in the region where some 2 million Palestinians live and made it nearly impossible for food to reach those in need safely.
Envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee visited the Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF) aid center in Rafah, Gaza's southernmost city, which was almost completely destroyed and is now a largely deserted area controlled by the Israeli military.
Israeli shelling has killed hundreds of people seeking aid since May, according to witnesses, health officials and the UN Human Rights Office.
Israel and the GHF claim they only fired warning lights and that the casualty figures have been exaggerated.
In a report released on Friday, New York-based Human Rights Watch said the GHF was at the center of a “flawed, militarized aid distribution system that has made the distribution of humanitarian aid a regular bloodbath.”
Mr. Witkoff wrote in X that he spent more than five hours in the Gaza Strip to “gain a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and help develop a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of the Gaza Strip.”
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
