Two of President Donald Trump’s top lieutenants in the Middle East – special envoy Steve Witkoff and Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee – will travel to Gaza on Friday to inspect food deliveries. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt shared the updates on Thursday, detailing that Witkoff and Huckabee had a ‘very productive meeting’ with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier in the day.

During his trip to Scotland on Monday, Trump broke with Netanyahu when he noted, alongside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, that there was ‘real starvation’ in the Palestinian territory of Gaza. Netanyahu has denied that Israel is waging a starvation campaign against Palestinian civilians living in Gaza amid the current war with Hamas.

Leavitt said the meeting with Netanyahu was on the topic of food and aid deliveries into Gaza. ‘President Trump is a humanitarian with a big heart and that’s why he sent special envoy Witkoff to the region in an effort to save lives and end this crisis,’ Leavitt said. She said that Witkoff and Huckabee will survey current distribution sites and figure out ways to get more food into the wartorn territory. They will also ‘meet with local Gazans to hear firsthand about this dire situation on the ground.’

On Tuesday, as the president traveled back from Scotland after spending time at his two golf resorts and meeting several world leaders, Trump hinted that Melania Trump may have played a role in his evolution on Gaza. ‘She thinks it’s terrible,’ Trump told reporters. ‘She sees the same pictures that you see. And that we all see. And I think everybody – unless they’re pretty cold-hearted or, worse than that, nuts.’ ‘There’s nothing you can say other than it’s terrible,’ the president continued. ‘When you see the kids. And those are kids – whether they talk [about] starvation or not – those are kids that are starving. They are starving.’

A journalist had asked the president if the first lady had called attention to the crisis in Gaza after she previously piped up about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s continued bombings of Ukraine despite having ‘very pleasant’ talks with Trump.

During Thursday’s briefing, Leavitt reiterated Trump’s position against recognizing Palestinian statehood – a move France, the United Kingdom and Canada have threatened to push Israel to allow more aid into Gaza. The president had said Tuesday that such moves reward Hamas. ‘You could make the case that you’re rewarding people – that you’re rewarding Hamas if you do that and I don’t think they should be rewarded,’ the president said.

Netanyahu had made a similar point saying that the move ‘rewards terror’ as Hamas responsible for the October 7, 2023 terror attacks that started the war – hasn’t been fully removed from power in Gaza. Trump showed his displeasure with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney by suggesting recognizing Palestinian statehood would prevent Canada from getting a last-minute trade deal ahead of the August 1 deadline when the president’s reciprocal tariffs are expected to kick in.

‘Wow! Canada has just announced that it is backing statehood for Palestine. That will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them. Oh’ Canada!!!’ Trump posted to Truth Social overnight Thursday. During an executive order signing on physical fitness later Thursday, Trump said Carney’s move wasn’t a ‘dealbreaker’ but suggested he was leaving the Canadians unread ahead of the crucial deadline. ‘We haven’t spoken to Canada today,’ Trump said.

The president was also asked if considered what was happening in Gaza ‘genocide.’ One of his top allies, Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, had used that language to describe Israel’s actions in the Palestinian territory on Monday. ‘Oh it’s terrible what’s going on there, it’s terrible,’ Trump replied.