JERUSALEM, ISRAEL – As U.S. leaders discuss the day after the war in Gaza, Israel continues to prepare for a major military campaign in Gaza City, the last Hamas stronghold, and the U.N. continues to insist there is starvation in Gaza.
President Trump presided over a policy meeting with Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and Former Trump Advisor Jared Kushner on the situation in Gaza..
Witkoff announced the meeting on Tuesday, revealing that they were putting together a robust “comprehensive plan” for what follows after the Gaza war ends. Later, it was reported they had discussed a variety of issues, including accelerating food deliveries and the hostage crisis.
The Times of Israel quoted a White House official who downplayed the meeting, saying, “The White House frequently holds policy meetings on a variety of issues, including Israel and Gaza.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on Wednesday, discussing “challenges and opportunities in the Middle East, including the threat from Iran, the war against Hamas, and the upcoming United Nations General Assembly meeting in September.
Sa’ar later posted on X, “I thank @SecRubio for his hospitality in Washington D.C. and his personal and unwavering support for Israel. We had a productive meeting on mutual challenges and interests for both our nations. Israel has no greater friend than the U.S. led by @POTUS Trump, and the U.S. has no greater ally than Israel!”
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In Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces are facilitating the entry of hundreds of humanitarian aid trucks each day, as well as the entry of fuel tankers to supply United Nations humanitarian work. However, at the U.N. in New York, officials still claim that Gazans are on the verge of starvation.
Assistant Secretary-General Joyce Msuya stated, “Over half a million people currently face starvation, destitution, and death. By the end of September, that number could exceed 640,000.”
Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, contends that the U.N. has the wrong focus.
“Instead of focusing your attention on the hostages, on the crimes of the Hamas terror organization, a campaign of diversion from these issues continues in an echo chamber that swaps facts for slogans,” Danon declared.
Danon was accompanied at the U.N. by a hostage survivor.
“It is an honor to stand here with Ilana Gritzewsky, who was dragged from her home in Nir Oz with her partner, Matan Zangauker. She survived 55 days in captivity. Matan is still underground. Hamas has deprived him of everything: light, freedom, food, and dignity. Ilana is here today to speak for those who cannot,” Danon said.
Gritzewsky told the world body, “Why Hamas – who burn children alive, rape women and mutilate bodies, kidnap children and adults – why are they not condemned in the same way? Why is Hamas considered differently? Why is it not considered the terrorist group that it is? Why are Jewish victims questioned, and why are our accounts questioned when others immediately believed? This is a double standard, and it’s hypocritical. It’s not just hypocrisy, it’s betrayal.”
Gritzewsky added, “I’m here, not just for myself, but for every woman and man [who] didn’t make it home, for every voice which was ignored, for the 50 hostages still in Gaza, for their families. Matan, stay strong. Don’t lose hope.”
