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Witkoff and Trump discussed plans for US to increase role in aid to Gaza, Axios reports

Witkoff and Trump discussed plans for US to increase role in aid to Gaza, Axios reports
Gaza’s civil defense agency said 26 people were killed by Israeli gunfire and air strikes on August 5, including 14 who were waiting near an aid distribution site inside the Palestinian territory. (AFP)
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Updated 05 August 2025

Witkoff and Trump discussed plans for US to increase role in aid to Gaza, Axios reports

Witkoff and Trump discussed plans for US to increase role in aid to Gaza, Axios reports
  • The Trump administration will “take over” management of the humanitarian effort in Gaza

WASHINGTON: US special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump discussed plans for Washington to significantly increase its role in providing humanitarian aid to Gaza, Axios reported on Tuesday, citing two US officials and an Israeli official.

The report said the discussions took place in a meeting between Witkoff and Trump on Monday at the White House, adding Israel supported the increased US role.

Axios cited a US official as saying the Trump administration will “take over” management of the humanitarian effort in Gaza because Israel is not handling it adequately.


UAE envoy says aid to Gaza will be scaled up, Cyprus is key route

Updated 5 sec ago

UAE envoy says aid to Gaza will be scaled up, Cyprus is key route

UAE envoy says aid to Gaza will be scaled up, Cyprus is key route
LIMASSOL: The United Arab Emirates is preparing to increase aid deliveries into Gaza, an envoy said on Friday, saying a sea corridor from Cyprus was essential alongside land and air access.
Minister of State Lana Nusseibeh said a maritime route channelling pre-screened aid from the East Mediterranean island was a vital lifeline to the people of Gaza. The UAE has partnered with Cyprus in supplying large quantities of aid to the Palestinian enclave, devastated by a two-year war. “Maintaining multiple entry points into Gaza remains incredibly important,” Nusseibeh said after an inspection of aid accumulating at the port of Limassol in Cyprus.
“As this plan moves forward, access to Gaza by land, air and sea is going to remain critical,” she told reporters.
Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas agreed a month ago to a first phase of a plan presented by US President Donald Trump. It paused a devastating two-year war in Gaza triggered by a cross-border attack by Hamas militants on October 7, 2023, and secured a deal to release Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners.
Despite the ceasefire, far too little aid was reaching Gaza, humanitarian agencies said on Tuesday.
Some 22,000 tons of pre-screened aid has been dispatched from Cyprus under the so-called Amalthea Initiative launched last year. Some of it reached Gaza directly via a short-lived temporary pier set up by the US last year, while other shipments have been dispatched to the port of Ashdod in Israel.