(MENAFN- Gulf Times) President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff held talks in Israel Thursday ahead of a rare US visit to aid distribution sites in Gaza, where nearly 22 months of grinding war and dire food shortages have sparked an international outcry.
Witkoff, who has been involved in months of stalled negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage release deal, met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shortly after his arrival, the Israeli leader's office said. Today he is to visit Gaza, the White House announced.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Witkoff, who previously visited Gaza in January, would "inspect the current 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".
"The Special Envoy and the ambassador will brief the President immediately after their visit to approve a final plan for food and aid distribution into the region," Leavitt said.
Gaza's civil defence agency reported at least 58 Palestinians killed late Thursday when Israeli forces opened fire on a crowd attempting to block an aid convoy - the latest in a spate of near-daily shootings of desperate aid seekers.
Israel is under mounting international pressure to agree a ceasefire and allow the world to flood Gaza with food, with Canada and Portugal the latest Western governments to announce plans to recognise a Palestinian state.
UN-backed experts have reported "famine is now unfolding" in Gaza, with images of sick and emaciated children drawing international outrage.
Israel is also under pressure to resolve the crisis from other traditional supporters.
Germany's top diplomat Johann Wadephul, who met Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and Netanyahu in Jerusalem Thursday, warned before setting off that: "Israel is finding itself increasingly in the minority".
Wadephul noted that Germany's European allies increasingly favour recognising Palestinian statehood, which Israel opposes.
The Israeli offensive in Gaza, nearing its 23rd month, has killed at least 60,249 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to Hamas-run Gaza's health ministry.
This week UN aid agencies said deaths from starvation had begun.
Israel on Wednesday sent a response to Hamas' latest amendments to a US proposal that would see a 60-day ceasefire and the release of some hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, a source familiar with the details said.
Hamas-led factions said Thursday in a statement that Palestinian resistance will not stop until "the occupation" ends and an independent, fully sovereign state with Jerusalem as its capital is established.

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