“There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel… everything is closed. We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly.” – Former Israeli Defense Minister and wanted war criminal Yoav Gallant, October 9, 2023
On Friday US Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, and US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, visited Gaza on behalf of President Donald Trump.
This handout photo from US Embassy Jerusalem shows White House special envoy Steve Witkoff, center, visiting a killing field run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a U.S.-backed organization approved by Israel, in the Gaza Strip Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. [AP Photo/David Azaguri]
In social media posts prior to and immediately after the trip, Witkoff and Huckabee said the purpose was to uncover the “truth” (Huckabee) and gain a “clear understanding” (Witkoff) concerning mass starvation in Gaza. In reality, the purpose of the trip is to whitewash and obscure the deliberate, state-engineered program of mass starvation undertaken by Israel with the full support of the US government and its imperialist allies.
The Trump administration officials were photographed wearing body armor, while Witkoff wore a black “Make America Great Again” hat while meeting with Israeli officials and private contractors.
Since the outset of Israel’s ethnic cleansing campaign nearly 22 months ago, the Israeli government has severely limited food, electricity, medicine and other basic necessities into the besieged and largely destroyed city. This starvation campaign was intensified following the imposition of an Israeli blockade on March 2 which prevented entry of virtually all food, fuel, medicine or other humanitarian supplies, including baby formula.
The results of this forced starvation campaign have been predictably horrifying. Millions of people around the world have seen on social media images and videos of emaciated bodies of humans, mothers and babies. On Friday the Gaza Health Ministry confirmed that three more people including two children, had died of hunger and malnutrition in the last 24 hours.
This past Tuesday the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification system issued an urgent alert warning that virtually the entire population of Gaza, 2.1 million people, faced high-levels of food insecurity. This includes half a million people in “Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5)” which is characterized by “an extreme lack of food, starvation, destitution and death.”
In order to provide cover for the forced famine operation, which is provoking widespread outrage among millions of people, including many workers who voted for Trump falsely believing his lying claims that he was a “peace president” intent on ending war, on Thursday and Friday, Trump envoy Witkoff and ambassador Huckabee visited a distribution site where they took photos and met with Israeli officials.
White House special envoy Steve Witkoff, center, and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, center left, visiting a site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a U.S.-backed organization approved by Israel, in the Gaza Strip, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. [AP Photo/David Azaguri]
In comments to Fox News Friday, Huckabee, a far-right Christian Zionist, presented the-US backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) which began distributing limited food at four distribution sites in Gaza beginning in May as the pinnacle of success.
“Look, here’s what we saw,” Huckabee said, “the GHF food program is working, its working very well. In fact today we passed over 100 millions meals having been served in two months.”
While there are many reasons to doubt this figure, even if true, 100 million meals for 2.1 million people spread over 60 days is approximately .79 meals per person, per day, that is, less than one meal a day for every adult and child in Gaza. In other words, Huckabee is explicitly endorsing and praising a program that provides food in such small quantities that it is nowhere near enough to sustain life, let alone improve health under conditions of siege and forced displacement.
Huckabee’s boastful admission is proof that the purpose of the GHF, and the visit by US officials was not to uncover the “truth” but to provide political cover for the Trump administration, the Israeli government and GHF, all of whom are implicated in crimes against humanity.
In social media posts and interviews, Huckabee claimed that Hamas is responsible for the famine, stealing “as much as 80 percent of the food,” a lie debunked by the Israeli military, hardly neutral arbiters, last week.
GHF employs contractors, including many ex-US military to oversee distribution sites alongside the Israeli military. Prior to being effectively banned from Gaza by Israel, UNRWA had operated 400 distribution sites in Gaza and provided food and aid for roughly 75 years. GHF operates four sites, all of which are located within zones where the Israeli military is carrying out active combat operations.
According to the United Nations, since GHF began operations in May of this year at least 1,373 people seeking aid have been killed, with the vast majority of those, 859 killed near GHF-run sites. Another 514 people have been killed along food convoy routes according to the agency.
The criminal character of the bureaucratized forced starvation operation has prompted one former GHF contractor to speak out. In multiple interviews with US and international media over the last week, Anthony Aguilar, a former US Army Green Beret has explicitly and powerfully condemned the starvation operation.
In an interview on the internet news show Breaking Points this week, Aguilar said “Are we complicit and engaged in war crimes? Yes.”
Aguilar was one of the first US contractors on-the-ground in Gaza with the GHF. He confirmed that he, and other armed contractors are being sent into the war zone on “tourist visas.”
He confirmed that the four distribution sites are all located in areas where Israel is conducting active combat operations under Operation Gideon’s Chariots. The sites are located miles away from many people, forcing the starving and sick to walk in the blazing sun for hours just to get a chance at some aid. Because water is “too heavy” and “expensive” Aguilar said it was not distributed at the sites.
The sites are not created to provide humanitarian aid, but to provide clear lines of fire for the Israeli military and private contractors. Aguilar confirmed contractors and the IDF facilitate movement of crowds with stun grenades, tear gas and live fire instead of posting signage or using loud speakers.
“It is the most brutal, unproportional use of force that I have seen in my entire military career and I deployed a lot,” he said.
Aguilar recounted the murder of Amir, a young child he said walked about 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) to reach the aid site. Upon collecting his meager ration, which Aguilar described as “scraps,” the young boy thanked the mercenaries in English and even kissed Aguilar’s hand in appreciation.
As the boy left the distribution site, Aguilar said other contractors started tear gassing the crowd, followed by the IDF firing live rounds into it. Holding back tears, Aguilar recounted finding the boy’s body among the dead later that same day.
Aguilar said in a separate episode he was reprimanded by a US contractor for objecting to an Israeli commander ordering three children sitting on a berm waiting for the site to open to be shot.
During his time in Gaza, Aguilar said he never witnessed Hamas stealing aid, or any Palestinians armed at the distribution sites. He noted that he never fired his gun or used a stun grenade because he did not need to.
Asked if he would agree with characterizations that Israeli campaign is “a war of annihilation,” Aguilar agreed, “Yes, it is a war of annihilation. Annihilation of the people, annihilation of the infrastructure, annihilation of the land, annihilation of every living thing. Without a doubt.”
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