OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
1:22 PM – Thursday, July 31, 2025
Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee are scheduled to visit Gaza on Friday to assess humanitarian aid distribution sites and engage directly with locals, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced Thursday.
The visit takes place against the backdrop of mounting international worries over the crisis in the region.
Their planned entry into the Gaza Strip reflects intensifying pressure on the administration—from both the global community and voices within MAGA-aligned circles—to take more decisive action.
It also follows a series of announcements by foreign nations expressing their intent to recognize Palestinian statehood ahead of the United Nations General Assembly convening in September.
“Tomorrow, special envoy Witkoff and Ambassador Huckabee will be traveling into Gaza to inspect the current distribution sites and secure a plan to deliver more food and meet with local Gazans to hear first-hand about this dire situation on the ground,” Leavitt told reporters during Thursday’s press briefing.
Witkoff is expected to tour a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) distribution site during his visit on Friday, according to an individual familiar with the special envoy’s itinerary who was granted anonymity to discuss the trip’s details.
UN officials—including humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher—have accused GHF of using aid to serve Israel’s political and military agendas, arguing that it “makes starvation a bargaining chip” and distracts from real solutions. However, the GHF has consistently rejected reports of deaths or violence at their food hubs, attributing injuries and chaos to Hamas, who controls the region, or UN sites controlled by anti-Israel operatives.
In a letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, GHF executive chairman Rev. Johnnie Moore accused the UN of perpetuating a “vast disinformation campaign” aimed at discrediting their work. He argued that, despite sharing data and requesting collaboration, the UN has refused to acknowledge their achievements, including distributing tens of millions of meals.
The GHF has also demanded a UN condemnation of the killing of its personnel—including local staff murdered in a Hamas ambush on June 11th—and called on the UN to denounce obstruction of aid by armed groups. GHF emphasizes that its “secure distribution sites” are the only way to bypass Hamas diversion of aid.
The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) data shows that of over 2,013 aid trucks entering Gaza since May 19th, approximately 85% were intercepted before reaching distribution points.
Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that Witkoff and Huckabee held a “very productive meeting” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier on Thursday, where they addressed the logistics of food and aid deliveries into Gaza.
Following their visit, Witkoff and Huckabee are scheduled to brief President Donald Trump “to approve a final plan for food and aid distribution into the region,” Leavitt added.
Nevertheless, Trump has dismissed calls to endorse Palestinian statehood. In a message posted earlier Thursday, he asserted that “the fastest way to end the Humanitarian Crises in Gaza is for Hamas to SURRENDER AND RELEASE THE HOSTAGES!!!”
Stay informed! Receive breaking news blasts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts
What do YOU think? Click here to jump to the comments!