Steve Witkoff met Joyce Msuya to discuss 'dire humanitarian situation,' need to 'speedily scale up aid,' says UN
US President Donald Trump’s Mideast envoy met with a senior UN official in New York on Tuesday to discuss the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the UN said Wednesday.
Joyce Msuya, the UN's assistant secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, met with US Envoy Steve Witkoff, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric confirmed at a midday briefing
“They had a constructive discussion on the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza and the need to speedily scale up aid into Gaza,” Dujarric told reporters.
The UN has repeatedly warned that Gaza is facing a severe humanitarian crisis, with malnutrition and starvation rising among civilians amid Israel’s throttling the delivery of urgently needed aid.
“The amount of aid and goods that can be brought into Gaza does not meet the minimum requirements of people who are starving,” Dujarric also told reporters, stressing that a ceasefire is “critically needed” to reach those in need and ensure a sustained, scaled-up aid flow.
Israel has maintained a blockade on Gaza for 18 years and sealed all border crossings on March 2, scuttling a January cease-fire and prisoner swap deal, and worsening the humanitarian crisis.
Since October 2023, Israel’s brutal offensive has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians — the vast majority women and children — according to local authorities, while devastating Gaza’s infrastructure, collapsing its health system, and causing acute food shortages.
Israel has only recently allowed limited aid through a controversial US- and Israeli-backed mechanism, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
Limited amount of aid now enters via the controversial scheme, where Israeli forces and US contractors have allegedly fired on people seeking aid, killing nearly 1,400 and injuring over 4,000 since late May, according to the UN.
