The American emissary Steve Witkoff is due to go to the Gaza Strip on Friday to inspect the distribution sites of humanitarian aid and meet residents, a rare visit of a foreign diplomat in the Palestinian territory devastated by the war and threatened with famine.
This will be Mr. Witkoff’s second visit to Gaza announced publicly. He went there last January when a cease-fire was in force between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, before a resumption of the Israeli offensive on March 18.
After 22 months of a devastating war triggered by an attack on Hamas against Israel on October 7, 2023, the Gaza Strip is threatened with a “widespread famine” according to the UN and is completely dependent on the humanitarian aid distributed by trucks or dropped since the air.
According to the White House spokesperson on Thursday, Witkoff and the American ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, will “move to Gaza to inspect the” aid distribution sites and set up a “plan to deliver more food”.
“They will meet residents of Gaza to hear from their mouth evoking this terrible situation,” she added. They “will take stock with the president (…) to approve a final plan for the distribution of aid”.
Mr. Witkoff, emissary of President Donald Trump for the Middle East, met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, at a time when many countries have said they consider recognizing a Palestinian state in the chagrin of Israel.
The dead who fell under Israeli fires and bombings are counted by dozens every day in Gaza, besieged by Israel, according to the civil defense which reported 38 Palestinians killed on Thursday.
In the hungry Palestinian territory, the drops often cause chaos scenes. Thursday in Al-Zawayda (center), at the sight of the aids parachuted by an aircraft, Palestinians ran by tens towards the place of fall, jostling and tearing up the packages, according to DS Images of AFP.
“Hunger has prompted people to turn against each other. People are fighting with them with knives,” said Amir Zaqot, who was waiting for help.
– Video of a hostage –
“The fastest way to put an end to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is that Hamas capitulates and releases the hostages !!!”, said Trump.
The latter seemed to distance himself from his Israeli ally by evoking a “real famine” in Gaza.
Before the visit of Mr. Witkoff, dozens of mothers and relatives of hostages in the hands of Hamas demonstrated in Jerusalem to demand the release of the 49 hostages still retained in Gaza, 27 of which were declared dead by the army.
On Thursday, the Islamic jihad, an ally of Hamas, published a video of an Israeli hostage that he retains. AFP could not determine the authenticity of the video, nor the date of its recording. But she has, like several Israeli media, identified hostage as Rom Braslavski, an Israeli-German.
The attack on October 7 led to the Israeli side the death of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count made from official data.
In response, Israel has sworn to destroy Hamas and launched a devastating offensive in Gaza which left at least 60,249 dead, mostly civilians, according to data from the Ministry of Health in Gaza, and caused a humanitarian disaster.
“The humanitarian disaster in Gaza goes beyond the imagination,” said German diplomacy Johann Wadephul after interviews in Jerusalem.
Before his visit, Mr. Wadephul considered that Israel was “increasingly in the minority position”, while “increasing number of countries, including European, are ready to recognize a Palestinian state”.
– “Trump dissatisfaction” –
Portugal said Thursday considering recognizing the State of Palestine, following the example of Canada, France and the United Kingdom.
Such a recognition remains largely symbolic due to the refusal of Israel of the creation of such a state to which the Palestinians aspire.
Israel denounced a “distorted international pressure campaign” coming “to reward Hamas”, while the Netanyahu government wants to drive out this Gaza movement and control the territory.
Mr. Trump “expressed his dissatisfaction and his disagreement with the leaders of France, the United Kingdom and Canada” about the recognition of a Palestinian State, according to the White House.
The Israeli government has announced a limited break in the offensive to allow the delivery of aid in the poor small territory where more than two million Palestinians are piled up.
But these aids are deemed insufficient by international organizations.
Posted on July 31 at 10:06 p.m. AFP