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State Department emphasizes freeing hostages and humanitarian aid in Gaza; special envoy visited Gaza, GHF reports over a million meals distributed
Summary
The State Department said its priority remains freeing hostages in Gaza and delivering humanitarian assistance. Special envoy visited Gaza for an on-site assessment; the Global Humanitarian Fund (GHF) has distributed over a million meals, and the department said it will not distribute spoiled food from USAID stocks.
The State Department spokesperson said the administration remains focused on freeing hostages taken from Israel and that humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza is a top priority. “We do remain focused on freeing the hostages,” the spokesperson said, adding the United States was working on measures to help get them returned.
The spokesperson said Special Envoy Witkoff (identified at the briefing only as the president’s special envoy) spent more than five hours inside Gaza over the weekend to assess needs and planning for urgent food and medical care, but that no final U.S. course of action had been announced. The spokesperson said an on-the-ground assessment was intended to inform the president’s decisions.
On the humanitarian response, the spokesperson said the Global Humanitarian Fund (referred to at the briefing as GHF) has distributed over a million meals to people in need. “It’s over a million meals that have been distributed,” the spokesperson said. When asked about the International Committee of the Red Cross and questions about access to hostages, the spokesperson declined to discuss specific prospects for changing the U.S. relationship with the Red Cross and noted many moving parts in access negotiations.
On U.S.-purchased food stocks, the spokesperson said the department will not distribute food that is expired: “If food is spoiled, it will be destroyed. We are not gonna distribute food that, is expired.” The briefing made clear that some food is pre-positioned for global emergencies and that managers evaluate whether particular stocks can be moved or must be destroyed; the spokesperson said decisions depend on storage condition, host-country permissions, and logistical constraints.
The spokesperson described Hamas as a terrorist organization and used forceful language about the group’s actions in the conflict. The State Department did not announce new U.S. funding amounts for Gaza at the podium, and the spokesperson said assessments from the special envoy would guide any further action.
