White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in the southern Gaza Strip today amid international outrage over hunger, a shortage of humanitarian aid and deadly chaos around aid distribution centers, the Associated Press reported, BTA reported.
Witkoff visited one of the Humanitarian Foundation for Gaza (HFG) distribution centers in the city of Rafah with the US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee.
All four HFG sites are located in areas controlled by the Israeli army. The centers, which have been operating for several months, have become hotbeds of despair, where starving people struggle for scarce aid. Hundreds of people were shot or crushed by crowds, the AP added.
"Since May 27, at least 1,373 Palestinians have been killed while searching for food," the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights for the Palestinian Territories said in a statement released today. "Most of these killings were carried out by the Israeli army," the statement, quoted by Agence France-Presse, also said. "We are aware of the presence of other armed elements in the relevant areas. But we have no information indicating their participation in these killings," the UN office added.
The Israeli army says it only fired warning shots at individuals approaching its soldiers, the AP notes. The HFG claims that its armed mercenaries only used pepper spray or opened warning fire to prevent a deadly stampede.
Witkoff arrived in the region a week after US officials withdrew from ceasefire talks in Qatar. US officials blamed "Hamas" for the lack of progress towards peace and vowed to look for other ways to rescue Israeli hostages and eliminate threats in Gaza.
White House spokeswoman Caroline Levitt said yesterday that Witkoff was sent to Gaza to develop a plan to increase humanitarian supplies. At the same time, US President Donald Trump wrote on the social network "Truth Social" that the fastest way to end the crisis was for "Hamas" to surrender and free the hostages.