United States Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff crossed into the Gaza Strip on 1 August to inspect a food-distribution hub run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in Rafah. He was accompanied by US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, marking one of the few high-level American visits to the territory since the war erupted nearly two years ago. The visit comes as Gaza faces what the United Nations describes as an impending famine, with the enclave almost entirely dependent on external aid. UN figures indicate that more than 1,000 Palestinians have been shot dead while trying to reach food convoys and GHF sites since May. Human Rights Watch has criticised the GHF model as “militaristic” and unsafe, alleging it exposes civilians to lethal Israeli fire. GHF rejects the accusations, saying it has distributed about 100 million meals and that its security measures focus on crowd control rather than the use of live ammunition. According to the White House, Witkoff spent over five hours inside Gaza gathering information to draft a new plan for food and medical deliveries, which he will present directly to President Donald Trump. Any revised scheme is expected to be announced once it receives presidential approval.