Gaza Strip – U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, arrived in Israel on Thursday to address the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where the death toll among Palestinians waiting for aid continues to climb. Accompanied by U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee, Witkoff is set to inspect food distribution operations in Gaza on Friday, according to a White House statement.
In the past 24 hours alone, at least 91 Palestinians have been killed and over 600 injured while attempting to receive humanitarian aid, the Gaza Health Ministry reported Thursday. Among the dead were 54 individuals killed on Wednesday while waiting for food near the Zikim crossing in northern Gaza. The toll is expected to rise as many of the victims were taken to remote and under-equipped hospitals in northern Gaza that have not yet reported their cases.
The Israeli military claimed that Palestinian civilians surrounded aid trucks and that soldiers fired warning shots, asserting they were unaware of injuries caused by Israeli fire. However, a security official speaking anonymously suggested the gunfire may have come from within the crowd during internal altercations among Palestinians competing for aid.
Meanwhile, desperation unfolded again on Thursday as massive crowds in Zawaida, central Gaza, rushed toward food parcels dropped from the air. With land crossings sealed and widespread hunger looming, aid agencies have resorted to airdrops to distribute supplies. These drops, however, have triggered stampedes and chaotic clashes.
Eslam al-Telbany, a displaced woman from Jabaliya, recounted being attacked and bitten while carrying flour and cooking oil. She dropped the items and returned home empty-handed. “I went, and my children prayed I’d return with food. They haven’t eaten or drunk anything for two days,” she said through tears.
Another displaced person, Ahmed al-Khatib, said someone grabbed his bag of flour during the scramble, causing him to lose a tooth in the process. Rana Attia, also displaced, expressed frustration, saying she preferred receiving text messages to collect aid over chasing falling packages in the heat. “We don’t want them to help us that way,” she said.
Despite the airdrops, the aid entering Gaza remains far short of the 500–600 trucks per day needed, aid organizations warn. Israel’s humanitarian coordination agency reported that only 270 trucks entered Gaza on Wednesday, while 32 pallets were dropped from the air.
Facing mounting global criticism, Israel has announced new measures to allow more international aid into Gaza. Nonetheless, international agencies say the region is now experiencing the “worst-case scenario” of famine after a prolonged 2.5-month blockade.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul also arrived in Israel on Thursday. Though Germany remains a strong ally of Israel, it has recently voiced stronger criticism of Israeli actions in Gaza and called for increased aid access and a ceasefire. While Berlin has not joined other allies in pledging to recognize a Palestinian state, Wadephul reiterated that a two-state solution is essential for lasting peace. “For Germany, the recognition of a Palestinian state stands rather at the end of the process. But such a process must begin now,” he said.
Special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Thursday afternoon to discuss both humanitarian concerns and a potential ceasefire. This was the first such meeting since both Israel and the U.S. withdrew their negotiation teams from Qatar last week. At the time, Witkoff accused Hamas of lacking seriousness about a truce.
President Trump echoed this sentiment on Truth Social, stating: “The fastest way to end the Humanitarian Crises in Gaza is for Hamas to SURRENDER AND RELEASE THE HOSTAGES!!!”
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has claimed the lives of over 60,000 Palestinians .
