US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Israel on Thursday to discuss the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza, as the death toll of Palestinians waiting for food and other aid continued to climb. Witkoff and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee were to inspect food distribution in Gaza yesterday, the White House said.
At least 91 Palestinians were killed and more than 600 wounded while attempting to get aid in the past 24 hours, the Gaza Health Ministry said on Thursday.
That includes 54 people killed while awaiting food in northern Gaza near the Zikim crossing on Wednesday, the ministry said.
Photo: AP
The toll is expected to rise further as many of those killed or wounded were brought to isolated, undersupplied hospitals in northern Gaza and have not yet been counted.
The Israeli military said Palestinians surrounded aid trucks and the Israeli military fired warning shots into the crowd, but reported no awareness of injuries resulting from Israeli fire.
A security official who spoke on the condition of anonymity in line with military regulations said the gunfire came from within the crowd and resulted from altercations between Palestinians attempting to access aid.
Scenes of desperation and chaos played out again on Thursday as scores of Palestinians ran toward food aid dropped from the air in Zawaida, a city in central Gaza. Aid providers have turned to the skies as border crossings remain closed amid severe food insecurity across the Gaza Strip.
The drops have set off stampedes and skirmishes as hungry crowds scream, fight and jostle for the parcels.
Eslam al-Telbany, a displaced woman from Jabalia, said she was carrying a bottle of cooking oil and a sack of flour when she was attacked and bitten, ultimately dropping the items and returning home without aid.
“I went, and my children prayed that I’d return with food. They haven’t eaten or drank anything for two days,” she said as she wept.
Ahmed al-Khatib said someone stole a bag of flour from him, and he broke a tooth in the struggle.
Rana Attia, another displaced woman, said people felt more dignified receiving text messages telling them where to collect aid rather than randomly chasing falling parcels under the scorching heat.
“We don’t want them to help us that way,” she said.
Despite the airdropped parcels, the amount getting into Gaza remains far lower than the 500 to 600 trucks per day that aid organizations say are needed.
The Israeli defense body in charge of coordinating humanitarian aid in Gaza said 270 trucks of aid entered Gaza on Wednesday, and 32 pallets of aid were airdropped into the Gaza Strip.
Under heavy international pressure, Israel announced a series of measures over the weekend to facilitate the entry of more international aid to Gaza. The international community has heaped criticism on Israel over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza.
International organizations said that Gaza has been on the brink of famine for the past two years, but that recent developments, including a complete blockade on aid for 2 and a half months, mean that the “worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in Gaza.”
German Minister of Foreign Affairs Johann Wadephul arrived in Israel on Thursday on a two-day trip that would also take him to the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Germany, traditionally a staunch ally of Israel, has been increasingly critical recently of Israel’s actions in Gaza. It has insisted that Israel must do more to increase aid supplies and pushed for a ceasefire.
Berlin has not joined major allies France, the UK and Canada in saying it would recognize a Palestinian state in September, but in a statement ahead of his departure yesterday, Wadephul underlined Germany’s position that a two-state solution is “the only way” to ensure a future in peace and security for people on both sides.
“For Germany, the recognition of a Palestinian state stands rather at the end of the process, but such a process must begin now. Germany will not move from this aim,” Wadephul said.
Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy, arrived in Israel on Thursday afternoon and was expected to speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the humanitarian situation and a possible ceasefire, an official said on the condition of anonymity.
This is the first meeting between Witkoff and Netanyahu since Israel and the US called their negotiation teams home from Qatar one week ago. Witkoff said at the time that Hamas “shows a lack of desire” to reach a truce.
“The fastest way to end the Humanitarian Crises in Gaza is for Hamas to SURRENDER AND RELEASE THE HOSTAGES!!!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Thursday morning.
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