US President Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff reached a place of humanitarian aid distribution in Rafah, southern Gaza, told the CNN the director of a company that works with the GHF (Humanitarian Gaza Foundation)Humanitarian Aid Distributor.
Yesterday, the White House announced the trip to Witkoff Gaza and US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabe.
“Tomorrow, special Witkoff envoy and ambassador Huckabe will travel to Gaza to inspect the current distribution sites and define a plan to deliver more food, and meet with Gaza residents to listen first to this terrible situation on site,” said Karoline Leavitt’s press secretary at a press conference on Thursday (31).
Witkoff and Huckabee “will inform the president immediately after the visit to approve a final plan for food distribution and humanitarian aid in the region,” she said, adding that the White House will provide more details “as soon as the plan is approved and approved by the president of the United States.”
This will be Witkoff’s second trip to Gaza. Shortly after Trump’s inauguration, becoming the first American authority to do so in over a decade.
Witkoff met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu In Jerusalem yesterday, a week after the US had retreated from the negotiations of ceasefire in Gaza, blaming Hamas for negotiating “bad faith.”
Understand the conflict in the Gaza Strip
Israel has carried out intense attacks on the Gaza Strip since October 2023, after Hamas launched a terrorist attack on the country.
Between October 7, 2023 and July 13, 2025, the Gaza Ministry of Health reported that at least 58,000 Palestinians were killed and more than 138,000 were injured. This includes more than 7,200 dead since the end of the ceasefire on March 18 this year.
The ministry does not distinguish between Hamas civilians and combatants in its count, but states that more than half of the dead are women and children. Israel states that at least 20,000 are combatants.
The UN (United Nations) reported on July 11 this year that 798 people were killed trying to get food since late May, when the US -based GHF (Humanitarian Foundation) began distributing food.
Of these deaths, 615 were recorded near GHF locations and 183 on humanitarian aid trains, especially the UN.
The Palestine Central Office said on July 10 that the population of Gaza had fallen from 2,226,544 in 2023 to 2,129,724. It is estimated that about 100,000 Palestinians have left Gaza since the beginning of the war.
Between October 7, 2023 and July 13, 2025, according to Israeli official sources, almost 1,650 Israeli and foreigners were killed as a result of the conflict.
This includes 1,200 dead on October 7 and 446 soldiers killed in Gaza or along the Israeli border since the beginning of the terrestrial operation in October 2023.
Of these, 37 soldiers have been killed and 197 injured since the hostility of hostilities in March. It is estimated that 50 Israelis and foreigners remain hostage in Gaza, including 28 hostages that were declared dead and whose bodies are being retained.
Since March 18 of this year, the Israeli Armed Forces have issued 54 travel orders, covering about 81% of the Gaza Strip.
The UN World Food Program (PMA) stated that this meant that more than 700,000 people were forced to move during this period.
On July 9, 86% of the Gaza Strip was within Israeli militarized areas or under displacement orders. Many people sought refuge in overcrowded places, makeshift shelters, buildings and damaged streets.
