Witkoff and the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, visited an aid site in Gaza run by the controversial Israel and U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) on Friday, as the United Nations said that over 1,373 Palestinians have been killed while seeking food since the end of May, including 859 at GHF sites.

Ilay David holds a poster of his brother Evyatar David, who is held hostage in Gaza, in November 2023 The family of Israeli hostage Evyatar David held by Hamas in Gaza has accused the group of deliberately starving him as part of a "propaganda campaign".

Hamas has released a propaganda video of a visibly starved Israeli hostage alongside images of emaciated Palestinian babies that have prompted international condemnation of Israel’s blockade of Gaza.