Israel’s Diaspora Affairs Ministry this week funded a trip for roughly 10 American and Israeli social-media influencers, granting them rare access to aid distribution centres run by the U.S.- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. The influencers were encouraged to film and share content intended to counter widespread accusations that Israel’s blockade is causing mass hunger in the enclave, according to an itinerary seen by local media. The promotional visit comes as Israel continues to bar foreign journalists from Gaza, a restriction press-freedom groups say prevents independent verification of conditions on the ground. Aid agencies and the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification have formally declared a famine, warning that more than half a million Palestinians face “starvation, misery and death.” Gaza health authorities say at least 271 people—112 of them children—have already died from malnutrition, and the UN estimates 17,000 children are acutely malnourished. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed the UN findings as a “blatant lie,” asserting Israel has facilitated the entry of two million tonnes of humanitarian assistance and blaming Hamas for diverting supplies. Human-rights groups maintain that the blockade and ongoing military operations—now estimated to have killed more than 61,000 Palestinians since October 2023—have crippled food distribution networks and created what UN Secretary-General António Guterres calls a “man-made disaster.”