Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s Middle East envoy, was set to depart for Israel on Wednesday amid mounting international anger over the dire humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, according to a U.S. official and another person familiar with the matter.
Both spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to publicly discuss Mr. Witkoff’s trip, his first known visit to Israel since May, when the United States negotiated the release of the last living American-Israeli hostage held by Hamas in Gaza. This time Mr. Witkoff is expected to arrive in Israel under grimmer circumstances.
Widespread hunger has gripped Gaza’s roughly two million Palestinians, many of whom are displaced after nearly two years of war. The World Food Program says that more than one in three Palestinians are not eating for multiple consecutive days. And Gaza health officials say dozens of people, including children, have died of starvation in recent weeks.
This week, Mr. Trump publicly acknowledged starvation in Gaza, breaking with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, who has denied that it is occurring. “That’s real starvation stuff, I see it, and you can’t fake that,” Mr. Trump said on Monday.
Mr. Witkoff is the Trump administration’s lead on negotiations over a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas and the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. But those talks stalled last week.
The devastating conditions in the territory have ignited a wave of global outrage at Israel over the past several days. France announced it would recognize Palestinian statehood, a move followed — albeit conditionally — by Britain. A coalition of about 30 countries, including some of Israel’s traditional allies, called last week for an immediate end to the war.
More than 60,000 people have now been killed in the Israeli campaign against Hamas in Gaza, including thousands of children, according to Palestinian health officials. Those figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
The war began with a large-scale Hamas attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people in Israel and saw roughly 250 taken to Gaza as hostages. Israel ended the last U.S.-brokered cease-fire in March rather than finish the war with the Palestinian group still in power in Gaza.
Roughly 50 captives remain in Gaza, and dozens of them are presumed dead, according to Israel. They include two Israeli-American soldiers — Itay Chen, 19, and Omer Neutra, 21 — who were killed by Palestinian militants during the Hamas-led attack.
Earlier this month, Mr. Trump repeatedly broadcast high optimism over the possibility that a cease-fire in Gaza could be imminent. But last week, Israel and the United States withdrew their negotiators from Doha, Qatar, where talks have taken place, blaming Hamas for the impasse.
Hamas officials argued that they had made significant concessions, but that Washington preferred to cover for Israel’s own unwillingness to compromise.
Mr. Witkoff said Hamas’s latest offer had shown “a lack of desire to reach a cease-fire.” He said the United States would consider “alternative options to bring the hostages home and try to create a more stable environment for the people of Gaza,” without elaborating.
Aaron Boxerman is a Times reporter covering Israel and Gaza. He is based in Jerusalem.
Maggie Haberman is a White House correspondent for The Times, reporting on President Trump.
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