US envoys will head to Gaza after meeting Netanyahu

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen + Agencies
1 Aug 2025 04:15

White House confirms envoy Steve Witkoff and Ambassador Mike Huckabee will visit Gaza to assess failing US-backed aid delivery, sparking backlash.

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White House special envoy Steve Witkoff listens during a meeting between United States President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Blue Room of the White House, on July 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP)

The White House announced Thursday that United States Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Ambassador to the Israeli occupation Mike Huckabee will travel to the Gaza Strip on Friday to inspect current food distribution centers and finalize plans to increase humanitarian deliveries.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that the two officials will also “meet with local Gazans to hear firsthand about this dire situation on the ground.” She added that Witkoff and Huckabee would brief President Donald Trump on their findings and present a finalized plan to expand aid to the besieged territory.

Earlier in the day, the two US officials held a “very productive meeting” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other occupation officials to discuss the delivery of “much-needed food and aid to Gaza,” Leavitt confirmed.

Hamas slams visit as propaganda display to cover up crimes

The Palestinian Resistance group Hamas criticized the planned visit, describing it as a superficial display intended to deflect from US complicity in the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.

Izzat al-Risheq, a member of the Hamas political bureau, said Witkoff's visit is “a propaganda stunt” aimed at “containing rising anger over the US-Israeli partnership in starving Gaza’s population.”

“Witkoff sees in Gaza only what the occupation wants him to see,” al-Risheq added, stressing that the US envoy is “viewing the ongoing tragedy through distorted Israeli eyes.”

He emphasized that Witkoff “will not witness the workings of the guillotine of hunger known as the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which sets the stage for Israel’s killing machine.”

Al-Risheq condemned the White House’s delayed admission of famine conditions in Gaza, noting that its failure to hold Israelis accountable amounts to “absolving the perpetrator and providing political cover for one of the gravest crimes in modern history.”

US under pressure amid growing Gaza famine

The visit comes as the humanitarian situation in Gaza deteriorates rapidly, with food aid deliveries falling well below minimum levels. According to aid organizations, at least 91 Palestinians have been killed and over 600 injured in the past 24 hours alone during chaotic aid distributions, including deadly stampedes and Israeli fire on queues of famished Palestinians.

Meanwhile, Trump, who called the Gaza crisis “terrible,” has vowed to increase humanitarian deliveries while maintaining unconditional support for "Israel".