U.S. envoy to inspect Gaza aid

JERUSALEM (AFP) — President Donald Trump’s envoy met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday ahead of a visit to inspect aid distribution in Gaza, as a deadly food crisis drove mounting international pressure for a ceasefire.

Steve Witkoff, who has been involved in months of stalled negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage release deal, met Netanyahu shortly after his arrival, the Israeli leader’s office said.

On Friday, he is to visit Gaza, the White House announced.

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Witkoff, who visited Gaza in January, would inspect “distribution sites and secure a plan to deliver more food and meet with local Gazans to hear firsthand about this dire situation on the ground.”

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul also met Netanyahu in Jerusalem, and afterwards declared: “The humanitarian disaster in Gaza is beyond imagination.

“Here, the Israeli government must act quickly, safely and effectively to provide humanitarian and medical aid to prevent mass starvation from becoming a reality,” he said.

“I have the impression that this has been understood today.”

In an example of the deadly problems facing aid efforts in Gaza, the territory’s civil defense agency said that at least 58 Palestinians were killed late Wednesday when Israeli forces opened fire on a crowd attempting to block an aid convoy.