US envoy Steve Witkoff to visit Gaza
Newshour
BBC
4.4 • 984 Ratings
🗓️ 31 July 2025
⏱️ 42 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The US special envoy Steve Witkoff is to visit Gaza on Friday. We hear from American medics working in the south and centre of the strip calling on him to include hospitals in his tour, and on their government to take action to end the suffering.
Also in the programme: Ukraine’s parliament votes to reverse anti-corruption legislation that was heavily criticised both inside and outside the country; and the stunning tattoos of a 2,500 year old mummy.
(IMAGE: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets the US President's special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, in Mr Netanyahu's office in Jerusalem, Israel, amid warnings of a famine in Gaza. 31st July 2025 / CREDIT: Kobi Gideon / GPO / Prime Minister's Office)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to NewsHour. It's coming to you live from the BBC World Service Studios in central London. I'm Tim Franks. |
| 0:10.5 | As we've often told you over the last nearly 22 months, we at the BBC, like all international journalists, can't get independently into Gaza. |
| 0:20.5 | Occasion of the Israeli military very briefly take very |
| 0:23.8 | tightly controlled groups in to see specific things. Nonetheless, the overwhelming evidence |
| 0:30.2 | appears to be that the situation for the 2 million plus Gazans is utterly dire. Most of them |
| 0:35.4 | are starving. Many of them are being killed daily just in the search for food. |
| 0:40.2 | Even President Trump, the leader who is by far Israel's most powerful and closest ally, has voiced his concern. |
| 0:47.3 | The reason I have mentioned the inability of us to get into witness what's happening on the ground and why |
| 0:53.1 | is that tomorrow, Friday, two of |
| 0:55.8 | Mr. Trump's submissaries will have the chance to see some of Gaza close up for themselves. |
| 1:02.0 | The announcement was made in Washington by the White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt. |
| 1:07.1 | President Trump is a humanitarian with a big heart, and that's why he sent Special Envoy Whitkoff to the region in an effort to save lives and end this crisis. |
| 1:17.5 | Tomorrow, Special Envoy Whitkoff and Ambassador Huckabee will be traveling into Gaza to inspect the current distribution sites and secure a plan to deliver more food and meet with local |
| 1:28.4 | Gazans to hear firsthand about this dire situation on the ground. |
| 1:33.7 | Hugo Bershaga is our Middle East correspondent. He's in Jerusalem. How significant does he think |
| 1:38.7 | this visit is? I think it's another sign that Gaza is again a priority for President Trump just days ago. |
| 1:45.3 | President Trump himself said there was starvation happening in Gaza, which was a rare public |
| 1:50.7 | disagreement between the president and Prime Minister Netanyahu. |
| 1:54.7 | And I think this is obviously happening amid Israel's growing international isolation, but also growing anger over this man-made crisis in Gaza. |
| 2:05.9 | And this is happening also in the United States. |
| 2:08.6 | It is very interesting to see that some influential voices inside the Maga movement, |
| 2:14.0 | which supports President Trump, are now voicing their concerns as well, their anger |
... |
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