According to Israeli media, including the official broadcasting authority and the private Channel 12, Witkov's convoy arrived at the Morag axis north of Rafah, where he inspected a distribution center affiliated with the so-called "Gaza Humanitarian Foundation."
Witkoff was accompanied during the visit by US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, according to the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth. The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation also published a video clip showing the US delegation's arrival at the site.
For its part, Hamas described the visit as a "propaganda stunt" aimed at containing growing anger over the US-Israeli partnership in besieging and starving the population of Gaza.
This visit comes as the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip confirmed that the famine and malnutrition crisis has claimed the lives of 154 Palestinians, including 89 children, between October 7, 2023, and last Wednesday.
Palestinian groups accuse Israel of using the so-called "Gaza Humanitarian Facility" as a tool to gather residents at specific points and force them to leave, in preparation for what they describe as a reoccupation of Gaza. Ministry of Health data indicates that repeated Israeli army fire on those waiting at aid points has resulted in the deaths of 1,330 Palestinians and the injury of more than 8,800 others since May 27.
Witkov arrived in Israel on Thursday for an unannounced visit, during which he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and discussed the possibility of moving from a "partial and gradual deal" to a "comprehensive deal" regarding Gaza, according to Israeli media reports.
Days ago, Israel withdrew from indirect negotiations with Hamas in Qatar due to Tel Aviv's intransigence on the withdrawal from Gaza, ending the war, Palestinian prisoners, and the aid distribution mechanism.
Since the genocide began on October 7, 2023, Israel has been simultaneously committing a starvation crime against the Palestinians of Gaza. On March 2, it tightened its measures by closing all crossings to humanitarian, relief, and medical aid, causing famine to spread and reaching "catastrophic" levels.
The US-backed genocide left more than 207,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 9,000 missing, in addition to hundreds of thousands of displaced persons and a famine that claimed the lives of many.
