Steve Witkoff, a special US envoy to the Middle East, visited Gaza’s controversial US aid aid streaming site on Friday. This is one of three places where hundreds of Palestinians have died in recent weeks as they attempted to reach rare food supplies.
An Israeli source told CNN on Friday morning that Witkov had arrived at the aid site in the southern city of Rafa, run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
The GHF was created to replace the role of UN aid in Gaza and has been widely criticized for failing to improve conditions as the starcion crisis deepens. Hundreds of people have been killed near GHF sites while more than 1,000 Palestinians are trying to get food to Israeli forces. The GHF disputes this.
White House press chief Caroline Leavitt said Thursday that U.S. ambassador Witkov and Israeli Mike Huckabee will “securing plans to inspect current distribution sites, deliver more food and hear in person about this dire situation in the local area to meet with local Gazanians.”
Witkoff and Huckabee “will execute immediately after the president visits to approve a final plan for food and aid distribution to the region,” she said, adding that the White House will provide “after the plan is approved and agreed by the US President.”
Friday’s visit marks Witkov’s second trip to Gaza. Shortly after Trump took office in January, Witkoff visited the enclave and became the first such US official in over a decade.
A Hamas official has accused Witkov’s trip of being nothing more than a photo opportunity.
“Witkov, Gaza is not an animal farm that requires a gradual personal visit to take personal photos in front of a death trap supervised by American companies,” Gaza’s former Palestinian health minister Bassem Naim said in a statement shared with CNN. “The Gaza people are not a be-food group, they are free, proud and noble people. They only want freedom, independence and return to their homeland.”
The GHF was established in May after Israel accused the United Nations of reaching Hamas. However, internal US government reviews found no evidence of widespread theft by Hamas of US-funded humanitarian assistance in Gaza.
An analysis conducted by the United States Organization for International Development (USAID) examined 156 cases of waste, fraud and abuse reported by partner organizations between October 2023 and May 2025, according to a presentation seen by CNN.
