Steve Witkoff went to the Palestinian enclave amid growing pressure on Israel to ease a deepening hunger crisis there. Hamas derided the visit as a “propaganda show.”

President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy became the first high-profile U.S. official to visit Gaza since the war began, touring a U.S.-backed aid operation on Friday that the United Nations says is partly to blame for deadly conditions in the enclave.

Haniyeh was under U.S. sanctions and wanted by the International Criminal Court. The political leader was the public face of Hamas.

Ismail Haniyeh, political leader of Hamas since 2017, has been the most visible leader of the group during Israel’s war in Gaza, and was key in ongoing ceasefire and hostage release negotiations.