U.S. officials met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday about delivering aid to Gaza, as public pressure grows on Israel to address the humanitarian and hunger crisis.
President Trump’s envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, and U.S. ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee had a “very productive” meeting with Netanyahu in Israel, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Witkoff and Huckabee will travel into Gaza on Friday to “inspect the current distribution sites” and to “come up with a plan to deliver more food,” Leavitt said.
They’ll also “meet with local Gazans to hear first hand about this dire situation on the ground.”
Witkoff and Huckabee will brief Trump after the visit to approve a food distribution plan.
Peace talks have stalled and Israel is facing a growing public pressure campaign to ensure food and aid is getting into Gaza.
Trump said this week the U.S. would work to set up “food centers” in Gaza to address the “real starvation” that is taking place.
Netanyahu says there is no hunger crisis, but both he and Trump have blamed Hamas for disrupting aid distribution in the region.
Netanyahu is nearing a political inflection point as some Republicans from the MAGA wing of the party speak out against U.S. support for Israel.
“Are innocent Israeli lives more valuable than innocent Palestinian and Christian lives? And why should America continue funding this?” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) posted on X.
“The secular government of nuclear armed Israel has proven that they are beyond capable of dealing with their enemies and are capable of and are in the process of systematically cleansing them from the land.”
On Wednesday, a record number of Senate Democrats — more than half the caucus — voted in favor of two resolutions to block U.S. military sales to Israel.
The resolutions ultimately failed but it was another warning shot at Netanyahu that his once-firm support in the U.S. is crumbling.
Sen. Jon Ossoff (Ga.), who is among the most vulnerable Democrats up for reelection in 2026, voted in favor of the resolutions.
“I do not believe the United States Senate should acquiesce without objection to the extreme mass deprivation of civilians in Gaza, including the intolerable starvation of children, that have resulted from the policies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government,” Ossoff said.
“Despite my opposition to Prime Minister Netanyahu’s conduct of the war in Gaza, I believe the United States must continue to support the Israeli people…Hamas, a despicable terrorist organization, started this horrific round of conflict with the brutal massacre of October 7th, 2023. Their abhorrent tactics, their refusal to release hostages, and their refusal to lay down their arms continue to deepen and prolong civilian suffering in Gaza.”
• Trump is ramping up his attacks against GOP senators, who he believes aren’t doing enough to stand up for him.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said he had a “good chat” with Trump after the president unloaded on him for supporting a bill that would prohibit lawmakers, future presidents and vice presidents from trading stocks.
Hawley, who sponsored the bill, was the only Republican to join all Democrats in passing it out of committee.
The Hill’s Sarah Fortinsky writes:
“Hawley’s bill was originally called the Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments (PELOSI) Act — a nod to the criticism former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has faced amid scrutiny over her husband’s stock trading. The Missouri Republican changed the name in exchange for Democrats’ support.”
Pelosi signaled her support for the legislation, while pushing back on claims she’s ever traded on insider information.
“If legislation is advanced to help restore trust in government and ensure that those in power are held to the highest ethical standards, then I am proud to support it — no matter what they decide to name it,” she said in a statement.
The dust-up between Trump and Hawley comes a day after Trump targeted Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) for honoring a longstanding agreement with Democrats over an obscure procedural rule.
Trump’s attacks on Grassley, 91, irked GOP senators.
The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports:
“Republican senators were appalled by President Trump’s rough treatment of 91-year-old Sen. Chuck Grassley (Iowa), the Senate’s most senior Republican, on social media and are pushing back on Trump’s attempts to squeeze the senator into abolishing an arcane procedure known as the Senate blue slip.”
