Trump envoy's Gaza mission: Can Steve Witkoff's visit alleviate the food crisis?

The visit of Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, to Gaza yesterday has sparked both renewed attention and yet another controversy over the deepening humanitarian crisis in the enclave. With widespread starvation, an increasingly chaotic aid distribution system and the politicisation of humanitarian efforts, the question remains whether Witkoff’s five-hour tour of southern Gaza will bring any meaningful change for the Palestinian population.

 

Witkoff, a former real estate executive and a golf buddy of the president, was accompanied by US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee during the visit. The two were photographed at one of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) distribution sites, an initiative backed by both Israeli and US authorities and managed by American private security contractors. GHF has taken over parts of the aid delivery process in Gaza since May, replacing some elements of the long-standing UN-led system.

 

Writing on X, Witkoff said the purpose of his visit was to provide President Trump with a clearer understanding of the humanitarian situation and to contribute to planning more effective aid delivery. “We spent over five hours inside Gaza.... — level setting the facts on the ground, assessing conditions and meeting with @GHFUpdates and other agencies,” he said. Huckabee noted in a separate post that they were briefed by the Israeli military and “spoke to folks on the ground,” without clarifying whether any independent humanitarian workers or Palestinian civilians were among them.

 

The visit comes amid escalating international criticism of Israel’s restrictions on aid flows into Gaza, as well as the increasing number of civilian deaths at food distribution points. According to the United Nations, Israeli forces have so far killed at least 1,353 Palestinians while they were attempting to access humanitarian aid. Of those, 859 were killed near GHF sites and another 514 while approaching UN convoys.

 

The credibility of the GHF-led distribution model has come under sharp scrutiny. Human Rights Watch and other organisations have labelled GHF-operated sites “death traps” due to the high number of casualties near them. Although GHF denies any deaths occurred at its sites during Witkoff’s visit, local medics reported receiving the bodies of 13 Palestinians shot by Israeli forces in the same area on the same day.

 

Witkoff’s visit was also marked by the absence of UN or other international aid officials. Some critics say the optics of the trip, including photographs of Witkoff in a "MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN" hat, suggested nothing more than a publicity stunt. Basem Naim, a senior Hamas official and former health minister, dismissed the visit as a “photo opportunity” and said Gaza was being treated like “an animal farm”.

 

The situation on the ground in Gaza remains grim. UN agencies report that famine conditions have already taken hold, particularly among children. According to UNICEF’s deputy executive director, Ted Chaiban, some 3.20 lakh children are at risk of acute malnutrition. He described seeing “marks of deep suffering and hunger” on the faces of families and said the enclave faced a “grave risk of famine”.

 

International humanitarian officials say the crisis has been worsened by Israeli-imposed restrictions on aid entry, which lasted for over two months starting in March. Even after easing some controls in May, Israel has only allowed around 70 aid trucks per day to enter Gaza—far below the 500 to 600 trucks needed daily, according to the UN.

 

Despite Israeli government claims that there is no hunger in Gaza, and that aid failures are the result of Hamas looting or UN mismanagement, even Israeli military officials have acknowledged they have found no evidence of systematic aid theft by Hamas. Instead, reports from both humanitarian groups and eyewitnesses suggest that Israel’s restrictions and attacks near aid routes have played a central role in the worsening crisis.

 

The Israeli military has repeatedly said its troops fire warning shots when they perceive threats at aid sites, but Human Rights Watch and other organisations argue that these explanations are inadequate in the face of mounting civilian deaths. The UN has also warned that the militarisation of aid distribution has undermined trust in relief efforts, causing desperate Palestinians to intercept convoys before they can reach warehouses.

 

The GHF model, which Israel hoped would replace the UN-led system, has only managed to set up four aid sites, mostly in southern Gaza. In contrast, the UN and other agencies had operated hundreds of distribution points earlier in the war. Aid trucks escorted by GHF are often overwhelmed immediately upon entry, with desperate crowds grabbing supplies en route. Witnesses have described scenes of violence, stampedes and chaos around aid trucks, including people attacking each other.

 

Meanwhile, in response to Hamas’s alleged withdrawal from hostage negotiations, Israel and the US are moving towards a broader objective of disarming Hamas and demilitarising Gaza, along with efforts to increase humanitarian aid.

 

Trump has also shifted his tone in recent days. In an interview, he acknowledged for the first time the widespread hunger in Gaza and said feeding people “should have happened a long time ago.” However, it remains unclear whether his administration will double down on the controversial GHF model or chart a new course involving independent humanitarian agencies.

 

Witkoff’s trip may signal greater US involvement in shaping aid policy, but whether it will result in tangible changes remains uncertain. Without addressing the core issues—limited aid access, lack of security guarantees for civilians, and sidelining of trusted aid groups—the crisis is unlikely to ease. As Belkis Wille of Human Rights Watch put it, “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.”

Middle East