On August 1st, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff visited a distribution center operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). During the visit, they pledged to report back to President Donald Trump on the foundation’s operations and help to develop a plan to combat the hunger crisis in the region amid growing international concern.
Crowds of Palestinians standing behind barbed wire fences appeared to cheer loudly as President Trump’s special Middle East envoy and the U.S. ambassador to Israel arrived at an aid operation site in southern Gaza.
“Today, we spent over five hours inside Gaza–level setting the facts on the ground, assessing conditions, and meeting with GHF and other agencies,” Witkoff said on X.
In recent months, the GHF has become the primary channel for food distribution in Gaza, in an attempt to replace United Nations’ presence in the region amid accusations from the Israeli government that Hamas had infiltrated the U.N. operations.
However, the foundation itself has faced increasing criticism. Last month, nearly 170 aid and charity organizations called for its shutdown, accusing the Israeli military of firing on Palestinians seeking assistance at GHF distribution centers. Israel has denied the allegations.
In a post to his official X account on Friday, Huckabee wrote that he and Witkoff had traveled to Gaza “to learn the truth” about the U.S. and Israel–backed, independently run GHF aid sites.
“We received briefings from @IDF and spoke to folks on the ground,” Huckabee wrote, without clarifying who the officials spoke to, “ Huckabee wrote, adding:
GHF delivers more than one million meals a day, an incredible feat!
The visit came a day after Witkoff touched down in Israel to push for fresh ceasefire negotiations with Hamas to bring an end to the war.
President Trump has blamed Hamas for the ongoing starvation crisis gripping Gaza, stressing that the fastest way to end the aid debacle would be for the terror group to surrender and release its remaining hostages.
