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WASHINGTON — As the United Nations and humanitarian organizations sound the alarm on the Gaza Strip's worsening hunger emergency, the Trump administration is doubling down on a controversial aid delivery scheme. 

The administration's Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee will visit sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation when they travel to the war-ravaged Palestinian territory on Friday. The White House said Thursday that the pair will "inspect the current distribution sites and secure a plan to deliver more food" as well as meet with locals "to hear firsthand about this dire situation on the ground."

Since beginning operations in late May, the GHF says it has distributed nearly 100 million food rations from four distribution sites under Israeli military supervision in southern Gaza. The structure is meant to replace the established UN-coordinated system that involved some 400 smaller distribution sites spread across the territory.