Witfkoff arrives in Gaza, tours US-backed 'aid' sites

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
1 Aug 2025 15:45
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As Gaza's death toll surpasses 60,000, the US-funded Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, praised by Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff, stands accused, alongside Israeli forces, of orchestrating militarized aid centers that have become sites of mass slaughter.

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US envoy Steve Witkoff and Ambassador Huckabee toured Rafah’s GHF aid sites, alternatively known as "death traps". (X, @Rea_Independent)

As "Israel’s" genocidal war on Gaza enters its 22nd month, a senior envoy of US President Donald Trump, Steve Witkoff, toured the controversial US-funded food distribution sites operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), even as Israeli forces continued their daily assaults on starving Palestinians.

His visit coincided with reports from international agencies documenting a humanitarian catastrophe in which US- and Israeli-backed aid centers have become deadly zones of massacre rather than relief.

According to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, at least 1,373 Palestinians have been killed while seeking food since May 27, including 859 near GHF aid points and another 514 along UN and NGO convoy routes.

"Most of these killings were committed by the Israeli military," the UN reported, adding that survivors describe scenes of chaos and indiscriminate fire targeting civilians queued for food.

Aid Warfare

GHF, launched in early 2025 and rapidly expanded under Israeli military coordination, has effectively sidelined the UN’s established aid delivery system, replacing it with a militarized, US-endorsed alternative.

GHF’s operations began just as "Israel" partially eased a months-long blockade, and its distribution model has been condemned by aid workers for funneling desperate civilians into kill zones under the guise of relief.

Despite this, US Ambassador to "Israel" Mike Huckabee, who accompanied Witkoff on the trip, had only praise. "We received briefings from IDF (the Israeli military) and spoke to folks on the ground. GHF delivers more than one million meals a day, an incredible feat!" Huckabee posted on X.

He deflected responsibility for the deaths, blaming Hamas instead, "Hamas hates GHF because it gets food to people without it being looted by Hamas."

Starvation Diplomacy

On Friday alone, 11 more Palestinians were killed, including two near a GHF distribution point, according to Gaza’s civil defense agency. The killings follow a well-documented pattern of Israeli soldiers firing on civilians congregating around GHF trucks and aid convoys.

In a blatant theatrical display, so-called “humanitarian” shows are being staged today at American aid distribution centers, attended by Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff. Everything appears organized and civilized: no repression, no pepper spray, no gunfire or casualties, not even… pic.twitter.com/3LDC4usale
— Osama Abu Rabee أسامة أبوربيع (@dn_osama_rabee) August 1, 2025

A report released the same day by Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Israeli forces of systematically using starvation as a weapon of war and deploying aid sites as strategic instruments of mass murder.

"Israeli forces are not only deliberately starving Palestinian civilians, but they are now gunning them down almost every day as they desperately seek food for their families," said Belkis Wille, HRW’s associate crisis and conflict director.

"US-backed Israeli forces and private contractors have put in place a flawed, militarised aid distribution system that has turned aid distributions into regular bloodbaths."

Even as these findings were made public, the Israeli military claimed its soldiers were simply present "to enable the orderly delivery of food," blaming Hamas for disruptions and pledging yet another internal review — a routine that has followed each atrocity without consequence.

Siege Theater

Witkoff’s visit also included meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, where the ongoing siege and "humanitarian efforts" were discussed alongside plans to eliminate all forms of Palestinian resistance. The same day, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, a vocal supporter of "Israel," appeared visibly shaken after viewing the devastation firsthand.

"The humanitarian disaster in Gaza is beyond imagination," Wadephul told reporters. He urged "Israel" "to provide humanitarian and medical aid to prevent mass starvation from becoming a reality." He added: "I have the impression that this has been understood today."

However, understanding has not translated into restraint. Gaza’s death toll has now surpassed 60,000, with hunger and disease threatening tens of thousands more.