Tel Aviv, 31 July 2025 (dpa/MIA) - US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is set to visit the Gaza Strip on Friday to inspect aid distribution centres, the White House has said.

Witkoff and the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, will seek to "secure a plan to deliver more food and meet with local Gazans to hear firsthand about this dire situation on the ground," said White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt on Thursday.

Witkoff earlier held talks in Israel with Prime Minister Bejamin Netanyahu.

Israeli media reported their discussion focused on the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli hostages held by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, as well as the issue of Iran.

Witkoff's visit comes amid international outrage over mounting evidence of large-scale starvation in Gaza and deadlocked ceasefire negotiations in Doha.

The news portal Ynet had reported that Witkoff could visit the Gaza Strip, saying he would like to personally assess the aid work done by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

Backed by the US and Israeli governments, the GHF controversially distributes humanitarian aid through channels that bypass UN agencies, which have long played a leading role in delivering food, medicine and supplies to Palestinians.

Amnesty International has called the GHF's operations "illegitimate and inhumane," echoing criticism from other human rights groups and humanitarian organizations. There are frequent reports of desperately hungry Palestinians being killed while attempting to access food at GHF distribution sites.

On Monday, US President Donald Trump said there was "real starvation" occurring in Gaza.

A report released on Tuesday by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), the leading international authority on food crises, warned that "the worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in the Gaza Strip."

Israel recently implemented a daily 10-hour "tactical pause in military activity" in areas of Gaza to allow more aid to reach people, including via aid convoys.

Witkoff is also in the region as efforts to reach a ceasefire in the 21-month Gaza war are stalled.

Witkoff announced about a week ago that the United States was recalling its negotiating team from Doha, citing a lack of willingness on the part of Hamas to agree to a ceasefire.

The US, together with Qatar and Egypt, has been acting as a mediator between Israel and Hamas, as the two warring parties do not communicate directly.

Israel also recalled its delegation last week. According to Israeli media, Israel rejected Hamas's proposed changes to a ceasefire mediation proposal.

Photo: epa