Hamas calls US envoy’s planned visit to Gaza a ‘propaganda show’

ISTANBUL

The Palestinian group Hamas denounced US Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff’s upcoming visit to the Gaza Strip, calling it a “propaganda show” aimed at deflecting anger over the grave humanitarian crisis in the enclave.

In a statement Thursday, it said that Witkoff’s visit seeks to “suppress the anger caused by the US-Israel partnership that has condemned our people to hunger.”

Hamas claimed Witkoff would view Gaza only through “Israel’s misleading lens” and criticized his planned stop at a US- and Israeli-backed aid distribution center as a “theater of death staged to pave the way for the war machine.”

The group also accused the White House of enabling the crisis, saying its recent acknowledgment of famine in Gaza, without directly blaming Israel, amounted to “exonerating the perpetrator” and allowing the suffering to continue.

Earlier, the White House said that Witkoff will travel Friday to the Gaza Strip to inspect food distribution sites.

"Tomorrow, Special Envoy Witkoff and (US) Ambassador (Mike) Huckabee will be traveling into Gaza to 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," spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters.

According to the latest data from the enclave’s Health Ministry, the death toll from starvation in Gaza since October 2023 has reached 154, including 89 children.

Palestinian officials say that a minimum of 500 aid trucks are needed per day to meet the needs of the territory’s 2.4 million people.

The Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza following the Oct. 7, 2023 cross-border attack led by Hamas that killed some 1,2000 people.

Israel's campaign has killed over 60,200 Palestinians and devastated the enclave amid shortages of food, medicine and daily necessities.