Two senior officials from former U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration visited a humanitarian aid site in the Gaza Strip, as mounting international outrage grows over severe hunger in the war-battered territory.
Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy, and former U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, toured a distribution centre operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) on Friday. The visit came amid criticism of Israel’s blockade and restrictions on aid deliveries, which have worsened the humanitarian crisis during nearly two years of conflict.
Sharing photos of the visit on X, Huckabee praised the foundation’s efforts, saying the team had received briefings from the Israeli military and had spoken directly with those involved on the ground.
The GHF, backed by U.S. contractors and supportive of both Washington and Tel Aviv, has sparked controversy for distributing aid through channels that bypass traditional UN agencies. Its operations have drawn criticism following multiple reports of Palestinians being killed while attempting to access food at its sites.
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said the trip was part of efforts to develop a more effective food delivery strategy for Gaza.
Witkoff, photographed wearing a “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN” hat during the visit, joined Huckabee in insisting the trip was aimed at understanding the scale of the crisis firsthand.
Earlier this week, Donald Trump publicly acknowledged that real starvation was taking place in Gaza one of the strongest statements yet on the crisis from the former president.
Though Israel has eased some restrictions recently, aid groups say humanitarian access remains heavily constrained, deepening the suffering of millions of Palestinians in the besieged enclave.