Image source, Reuters

Earlier today, Donald Trump's Middle East envoy and Israel ambassador visited Gaza, to inspect an aid distribution site run by the controversial US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

Steve Witkoff and Mike Huckabee were photographed alongside members of the Israeli military at one of the sites thought to be near Rafah, in the south of the territory. One image showed a crowd of Palestinians, stationed on the opposite side of a wall and behind barbed wire, watching on.

The US visit follows reports of near daily shootings of Palestinians at GHF sites. Shortly after they departed, campaign group Human Rights Watch accused Israeli forces and US-backed contractors of establishing "a flawed, militarised aid distribution system that has turned aid distributions into regular bloodbaths".

The latest figures from the UN say at least 1,373 Palestinians have been killed at aid sites trying to get food since May, with at least 859 of them being killed in vicinity of GHF sites.

Israel says its troops do not intentionally open fire on civilians and accuses Hamas of instigating chaos near the sites. The GHF rejects these figures.

• We're ending our live coverage now. Visit the Israel-Gaza war section on the BBC News website for further updates and analysis

The US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has shared photos of his and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff's visit to Gaza earlier today, where they inspected a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) aid site.

"We received briefings from IDF and spoke to folks on the ground," he says on X, external, to "learn the truth" about the GHF aid sites, which are backed by the US and Israel.

According to the UN human rights office, at least 1,373 Palestinians have been killed while trying to get food aid since the GHF began operating in late May. It said most of them were killed by the Israeli military.

The office said on Thursday that at least 859 of them had been killed in the vicinity of one of the GHF's four distribution centres, which are operated by US private security contractors and are located inside Israeli military zones.

Another 514 people had been killed along the routes of UN and other aid convoys, it added.

Image source, Mike Huckabee/X

Image source, Mike Huckabee/X

Hugo Bachega
Middle East correspondent, in Jerusalem

Steve Witkoff’s visit to Israel and Gaza comes as Israel faces growing international isolation over the starvation crisis in the Gaza Strip, with images of emaciated children and accounts of Palestinians starving to death sparking global outrage.

Polls around the world suggest that public opinion is increasingly negative about Israel, which is putting pressure on leaders to act. According to Pew research, external published last month, before the crisis in Gaza worsened, in 20 of 24 countries surveyed, around half of adults or more had an unfavourable view of Israel - including the US.

In recent days, even some MAGA Republicans, the heart of President Trump’s base, have publicly voiced opposition to America’s support for Israel. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has described Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide, an accusation that Israel has always strongly rejected. However, human rights groups, including two leading organisations based in Israel, and a growing number of experts are describing Israel’s actions in Gaza as such.

The UN, aid agencies and even some of Israel’s allies blame its restrictions on the entry and distribution of aid for the hunger crisis in Gaza. Israel has categorically rejected the allegations and has also denied that starvation is happening in the territory, despite mounting evidence.

Israel had blocked the entry of all humanitarian aid into Gaza between March and May, in what was then described by Israeli authorities as a strategy to put pressure on Hamas to agree to a ceasefire and hostage release deal, which did not happen. It was accused of using food as a weapon and a war crime, which it also denied.

Then, Israel created a controversial new system for the distribution of supplies, through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which requires people to walk to a handful of militarised hubs, often at great risk. It said the system, which largely bypassed the UN and other agencies with decades of experience, was needed to prevent the large-scale diversion of aid by Hamas, although it has never provided evidence of that.

The UN has described the mechanism as insufficient and inhumane, calling it “death traps”: it says more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid under the system.

Air dropping aid is an act of desperation that won't end hunger in Gazapublished at 13:46 BST 1 August

13:46 BST 1 August

Jeremy Bowen
International editor

Image source, Getty Images

Almost a week has passed since Israel offered to allow air drops of aid into Gaza. It's a gesture towards allies who are issuing strong statements blaming Israel for starvation in Gaza.

In other wars I have seen aid being dropped, both from the aircraft themselves and close up on the ground as it lands.

It is a crude process, that will not on its own do much to end hunger in Gaza. Only a ceasefire and an unrestricted, long term aid operation can do that.

Air dropping aid is an act of desperation. It can also look good on television, and spread a feel-good factor that something, at last, is being done.

Professionals involved in relief operations regard air dropping aid as a last resort. They use it when any other access is impossible. That's not the case in Gaza. A short drive north is Ashdod, Israel's modern container port. A few more hours away is the Jordanian border, which has been used regularly as a supply line for aid for Gaza.

Dropping aid delivers very little. Even big transport planes do not carry as much as a convoy of lorries.

Pallets dropped by parachute often land far from the people who need it. Israel has forced hundreds of thousands of starving Palestinian civilians into a tiny area on the southern coast of Gaza. Most of them live in densely packed tents. It is not clear if there is even an open space for despatchers high in the sky to aim at.

Each pallet will now be fought over by desperate men trying to get food for their families, and by criminal elements who will want to sell it for profit.

• Read more on this story here

Last week, Israel said it would allow Jordan and the United Arab Emirates to resume airdropping humanitarian supplies into Gaza. The announcement came at a time of growing international pressure on Israel due to the worsening humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli military body Cogat, which co-ordinates the entry of aid into Gaza, says that since Saturday - and not including today - close to 200 pallets (boxes with a parachute) were dropped into Gaza. Each airdrop weighs dozens of tonnes, it adds.

Since then, Jordan and the UAE have carried out several airdrops.

On Sunday, the UK said it was working with Jordan to drop aid into Gaza and evacuate children needing medical assistance, with military planners deployed for further support.

Earlier this week, Spain said it would be delivering 12 tonnes of food to Gaza.

On Wednesday, the Belgian government said a plane carrying medical supplies and food worth 600,000 euros (£520,254) would fly "soon" to Jordan and remain on standby to carry out airdrops in coordination with Amman.

"These airdrops are a first step, but they can in no way be a cover for the urgent need to facilitate access by land," Belgian foreign minister Maxime Prevot said.

Today, the German government announced that it would deliver 14 tonnes of food and medical aid to Gaza.

Image source, Reuters

The UN's agency for Palestinian refugees says airdrops are more costly than trucks, and carry less aid.

Unrwa chief Philippe Lazzarini says that if there is political willingness to conduct airdrops - which he says are "highly costly, insufficient and inefficient"- then there should be "similar... to open the road crossings".

Lazzarini says Gazans are "starving to death," adding: "The only way to respond to the famine is to flood Gaza with assistance".

In a post on X, he says Unrwa has 6,000 trucks loaded with aid stuck outside Gaza, as they await "the green light to enter".

The UN official recalls that Unrwa and other organisations were bringing somewhere between 500 and 600 trucks a day into Gaza during the ceasefire earlier this year, when "aid reached the entire population of Gaza in safety and dignity".

Image source, Getty Images

The campaign group Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused Israeli forces and US-backed private contractors of putting in place "a flawed, militarised aid distribution system that has turned aid distributions into regular bloodbaths".

The mechanism to which they are referring is run by the US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which replaced the UN distribution mechanism in May.

Since, there have been near daily reports of shootings near the sites. Israel says its troops have only fired warning shots and that they do not intentionally shoot civilians, blaming Hamas for instigating chaos near the aid sites.

In a lengthy statement, Human Rights Watch says the dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza are a "direct result of Israel’s use of starvation of civilians as a weapon of war" and its "continued intentional deprivation of aid and basic services".

HRW's Belkis Wille adds: “Israeli forces are not only deliberately starving Palestinian civilians, but they are now gunning them down almost every day as they desperately seek food for their families."

The group argues that nations should put pressure on Israel to "immediately stop using lethal force as crowd control against Palestinian civilians" and calls for GHF mechanism to be suspended.

Israel has insisted there are no restrictions on aid deliveries and that there is "no starvation" in Gaza. The BBC has contacted the GHF for comment on reported shootings at aid sites.

Image source, Mike Huckabee / X

In the last few moments the US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has posted images after a visit to an aid point in Gaza today.

In a post on X, Huckabee says: "Went into Gaza today and observed humanitarian food program by US launched GHF.

"Hamas hates GHF [Gaza Humanitarian Foundation] because it gets food to people without it being looted by Hamas.

"Over 100 MILLION meals served in 2 months."

The White House previously said Huckabee would be joining Steve Witkoff for the visit.

• For context: The aid sites they visited are those run by the US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which replaced the UN distribution mechanism in May. Since then, aid groups have expressed alarm at the near daily reports of Palestinians being killed near the GHF's sites, which are inside Israeli military zones. Israel says its troops have only fired warning shots and that they do not intentionally shoot civilians

Image source, Mike Huckabee / X

Image source, Getty Images

• President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Gaza a few hours ago to inspect controversial aid distribution sites backed by Israel and the US, BBC News understands
• It follows near daily reports of shootings at the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) points
• Latest figures from the UN say 1,373 Palestinians have been killed seeking food since late May, with the majority shot dead near distribution facilities

• Gazans have denounced Witkoff's visit. One Palestinian tells our Gaza correspondent Rushdi Abualouf: “This visit is a hollow media stunt not a humanitarian mission"
• It comes amid warnings of famine from aid agencies and mounting reports of hunger-related deaths in Gaza
• Meanwhile, at least 10 people have been killed in southern and central Gaza since dawn on Friday, Hamas-run civil defence tells the BBC. We have approached the Israeli army for comment

Rushdi Abualouf
Gaza correspondent, in Istanbul

Image source, Reuters

At least 10 Palestinians have been killed in southern and central Gaza since dawn on Friday, according to a spokesperson for the Hamas-run civil defence.

The spokesperson tells the BBC that eight people were killed in two separate Israeli air strikes that targeted tents sheltering displaced families, one in Khan Younis in the south, and the other in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.

Separately, two more people were killed and at least 20 others injured when Israeli forces opened fire near an aid distribution point along the Morag corridor north of Rafah, the spokesperson adds.

Local residents said hundreds of people had gathered to get food when the shooting began.

The BBC has approached the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for comment.

The BBC World Service has pieced together the stories of Layan al-Majdalawi, two, and Mira Tanboura, six, both killed in Gaza in separate incidents in November 2023, in areas where the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) was operating.

In response to our findings, the IDF said the details of Layan and Mira's cases had been recorded and "will be examined by the competent authorities". It added: "Intentional harm to civilians, especially children, is strictly prohibited."

Layan and Mira are just two of more than 160 cases of children shot in the war in Gaza, for whom we have gathered accounts.

The International Committee of the Red Cross has told the BBC the world cannot accept as a "new normal" the type of warfare that allows so many children to be shot.

Watch our investigation below:

Israel and US reportedly pushing for an 'all-in' hostage dealpublished at 10:12 BST 1 August

10:12 BST 1 August

Emir Nader
Reporting from Jerusalem

Image source, Israeli Prime Minister's Office

Last week, the US and Israel pulled out of ceasefire talks, accusing Hamas of lacking coordination and not negotiating in good faith.

Hamas, for its part, accused the Israeli side of intransigence; not budging on key sticking points in the negotiations.

Now, it seems that the US is trying to breathe new life into talks.

A US spokesperson said that yesterday’s meeting between US envoy Steve Witkoff and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “productive”, but there’s been no full read-out of the meeting.

However, Israeli media reports that Witkoff and Netanyahu discussed a major reformulation of the ceasefire negotiations.

It’s being reported that they will push for an "all-in deal" that would see all hostages held by Hamas released in a single exchange, alongside the full disarmament of Hamas. Previously, hostages were to be released in phases.

What's not clear about the new proposal is how it addresses the essential sticking point: how would it lead to a permanent end to the war in Gaza?

Hamas will not agree to releasing the remaining hostages it has unless it is given assurances that it will lead to the war fully coming to an end. In recent days Hamas has also said that it won’t return to the negotiating table until more aid gets in order to address starvation in Gaza.

Rushdi Abualouf
Gaza correspondent, in Istanbul

Image source, Reuters

The visit to Gaza by US special envoy Steve Witkoff has drawn widespread criticism from Palestinians in the enclave, who accuse Washington of attempting to whitewash its role in the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe.

With much of Gaza facing famine-like conditions, devastated infrastructure, and widespread displacement, many residents say the visit lacks any real substance and serves only to deflect growing outrage at US support for Israel’s military campaign and the ongoing siege.

“Steve Witkoff won’t see the hunger, only the narrative Israel wants him to see,” says Louay Mahmoud, a resident of Gaza.

“This visit is a hollow media stunt not a humanitarian mission. He comes with no solutions, only talking points designed to polish the image of an administration complicit in our suffering.”

Mahmoud, like many in Gaza, believes that US diplomatic efforts have done little to ease the crisis, and blames the White House for enabling Israel’s actions without meaningful accountability.

“What Gaza needs isn’t another envoy with a press team. We need the siege lifted, the bombing stopped, and the blind American support for this war brought to an end,” says Amer Khayrat a father of two children in Gaza City.

Across social media, Palestinians expressed similar sentiments. Abdel Rahman Zughra writes on Facebook: “So Witkoff is here to visit aid sites is that to justify their failed policy?

"Come see for yourself, sir these are not scenes of life. Yes We agree with you, we don’t want Hamas to control the aid, but we also don’t want to die waiting for it.”

Another displaced resident from Gaza, Abu Osama Abu Rahma, issued a direct appeal to the American envoy.

He writes on Facebook: “Walk through the shattered neighbourhoods. See the pregnant women, the elderly, the sick, and children with no food, no medicine, no milk. Look at the markets, now ruled by profiteers and crisis traders exploiting desperate families.”

The UN has repeatedly called for the full and sustained entry of humanitarian supplies, but access remains sporadic and many aid trucks are looted.

The UN's human rights office (OCHR) says that since 27 May at least 1,373 Palestinians have been killed while trying to get food aid in Gaza.

Of those killed, the UN said on Thursday that at least 859 of them had been killed in the vicinity of one of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's (GHF) four distribution centres, which are operated by US private security contractors and are located inside Israeli military zones.

The UN says that most of them were killed by the Israeli military, and while they are aware of other armed groups in the same area, it adds that they "do not have information indicating their involvement in these killings".

The office said it had "no information that these Palestinians were directly participating in hostilities or posed any threat to Israeli security forces".

Israel has accused Hamas of instigating the chaos near the aid sites. It says its troops have only fired warning shots and that they do not intentionally shoot civilians.

The GHF has rejected the UN's numbers.

Image source, Reuters

As we just reported, US envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff is understood to be in Rafah, southern Gaza, where he will be inspecting food distribution sites.

His visit comes a day after his arrival in Israel. He met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday - the pair are said to have had "productive" talks

The aid sites Witkoff is visiting are those run by the US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which replaced the UN distribution mechanism in May.

Since then, aid groups have expressed alarm at the near daily reports of Palestinians being killed near the GHF's sites, which are inside Israeli military zones.

Eyewitnesses and medics have on several occasions described Israeli forces opening fire on crowds near aid points.

The IDF has previously said it "did not instruct the forces to deliberately shoot at civilians, including those approaching the distribution centres".

According to the UN human rights office, at least 1,373 Palestinians have been killed while trying to get food aid since late May.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff is now visiting an aid distribution in the area of Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip, the BBC understands.

Unconfirmed photos posted on social networks shows what appears to be a motorcade inside a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) distribution site in Rafah, according to local Palestinian journalists.

On Thursday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Witkoff would visit aid distribution sites in Gaza together with US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee “and secure a plan to deliver more food and meet with local Gazans to hear first-hand about this dire situation on the ground".

A diplomatic correspondent for Israeli Kan News has hinted that Witkoff could be accompanied by senior Israeli figures.

We'll let you know more when we have it.

Jamie Whitehead
Live editor

Image source, Reuters

US envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff will visit Gaza tomorrow, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavett has confirmed.

Witkoff will visit Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) aid distribution sites in the territory and work on plans to get more food into Gaza. The US- and Israeli-backed GHF says that it has now delivered “nearly one million meals” since it began operations in May.

But a short while ago the UN's Palestinian human rights office, OHCHR, has said that since the GHF was established, 859 Palestinians have been killed in the vicinity of its sites while trying to collect food.

The IDF says 43 aid packages were airdropped into Gaza over a few hours today, as part of of a “series of actions” attempting to improve the humanitarian response in the Strip, while the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says 91 people have been killed while seeking aid in the past day, with two more dying of malnutrition.

The United States has imposed sanctions on members of the Palestinian Authority, a Palestinian self-governance organisation and the Palestine Liberation Organisation, which represents Palestinian interests globally.

The move comes as several US allies, including Canada and Portugal, consider recognising a Palestinian state.

We're pausing coverage here for now, but you can stay up-to-date with the latest in our news story.

Tom Bateman
US State Department correspondent

It's significant that Steve Witkoff has travelled to the region because there has been growing pressure on the Trump administration over the conditions in Gaza and the fact that starvation is gripping the territory.

President Donald Trump said earlier this week there is "real starvation" in Gaza and clearly it is something he has been pressed on.

So part of this visit will be around that issue. Witkoff will visit a site of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the organisation established by the US and Israel which operates inside Israeli military zones.

It has seen disastrous impact on the ground where aid seekers have been shot dead by the Israeli military, according to eyewitnesses.

The UN says more than 1,000 people have been killed seeking aid. At the same time, we've seen rampant malnutrition in Gaza in that time and a lot of pressure on Israel.

Israel and the US blame Hamas for the crisis.

So what Witkoff reports back will be important, because he is a trusted voice as far as Trump is concerned.

In an update on social media, the UN's Palestinian human rights office (OHCHR) says that at least 1,373 people have been killed in Gaza while seeking aid.

Of those, 859 were near sites operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) and 514 were near routes travelled by aid convoys.

OHCHR says that "shooting and shelling of Palestinians by the Israeli military has continued along the routes of food convoys and in the vicinity" of GHF sites. Those incidents have continued since Israel announced humanitarian pauses in fighting last week.

The majority of victims appear to be young men and boys, OHCHR adds. "The UN Human Rights Office in the occupied Palestinian territory has no information that these Palestinians were directly participating in hostilities or posed any threat to Israeli security forces or other individuals.

"Each person killed or injured had been desperately struggling for survival, not only for themselves, but also for their families and dependents," the office says.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

At the White House, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has just been asked about whether there was any possibility of negotiations with Hamas going forward.

Leavitt avoided a direct answer, saying that US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff hopes to give the president "some grace" by updating him.

She did, however, point to a Truth Social post from Trump saying that the "quickest way" for the conflict to end is for Hamas to release the remaining hostages.

In recent days, we've heard the president express pessimism that would happen, suggesting that Hamas no longer has any negotiating power without the hostages.