US envoy visits Gaza aid site; statehood goal gets new push

US President Donald Trump’s West Asia envoy Steve Witkoff on Friday visited a food distribution site in the Gaza Strip operated by an Israeli-backed American contractor whose efforts to deliver food to the hunger-stricken territory have been marred by violence and controversy.

Hundreds of people have been killed by Israeli fire while heading to such aid sites since May, according to witnesses, health officials and the UN human rights office. Israel says its forces have only fired warning shots and that the toll has been exaggerated.

A new vision for West Asia peace emerged this week which proposes the withdrawal of Israel from Gaza and the West Bank, the disbanding of Hamas and the creation of a unified Palestinian state. The plan emerged from a “high-level conference” in New York on July 29, which assembled representatives of 17 states, the European Union and the Arab League. The resulting proposal is a framework for the implementation of the two-state solution.