President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy became the first high profile US official to visit Gaza since the war began, touring a US-backed aid operation on Friday that the United Nations says is partly to blame for deadly conditions in the enclave.
Hours after Steve Witkoff visited a site run by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in Rafah, Palestinian medics said Israeli forces had shot dead three Palestinians near one of the group's sites in the city on Gaza's southern edge. Reuters could not immediately verify whether it was the same location.
The United Nations says more than 1,000 people have been killed trying to receive aid in Gaza since the GHF began operating there in May, most of them shot by Israeli forces operating near GHF sites.
The UN has declined to work with the GHF, which it says distributes aid in ways that are inherently dangerous and violate humanitarian neutrality principles, contributing to the hunger crisis across the territory.
The GHF says nobody has been killed at its distribution points and it is doing a better job of protecting aid deliveries than the UN.
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who travelled with Witkoff to Gaza on Friday, posted on X a picture showing hungry Gazans behind razor wire with a GHF poster with a big American flag that read "100,000,000 meals delivered".
"President Trump understands the stakes in Gaza and that feeding civilians, not Hamas, must be the priority", GHF spokesperson Chapin Fay said in a statement, accompanied by images of Witkoff in a grey camouflage top, flak jacket and 'Make America Great Again' baseball cap with Trump's name stitched on the back.
"We were honoured to brief his delegation, share our operations and demonstrate the impact of delivering 100 million meals to those who need them most", Fay said.
Witkoff made his visit to Gaza a day after arriving in Israel to push for fresh ceasefire negotiations, as Israel is under mounting international pressure over the destruction of Gaza and growing starvation among its 2.2 million inhabitants.
In addition to the three shot near a GHF site, medics said at least 12 other Palestinians were killed in air strikes across the Gaza Strip on Friday.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday's reported killings.
Gaza medics say dozens have died of malnutrition in recent days as hunger sets in, after Israel cut off all supplies the enclave for nearly three months from March-May and restricted supplies since.
Israel says it is taking steps to let in more aid, including pausing fighting for part of the day in some areas and announcing protected routes. It has acknowledged that its forces have killed some Palestinians seeking aid and says it has given its troops new orders to improve their response.
The worsening humanitarian crisis has prompted France, Britain and Canada to announce plans to potentially recognise a Palestinian state, a move already taken by most countries but not by major Western powers. — Reuters
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