US envoy to visit Gaza aid sites Friday after meeting with Israeli prime minister

Arab and Muslim states including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Egypt have for the first time issued a joint call for Hamas to disarm and relinquish power in the Gaza Strip as part of efforts to end the war in the territory. Follow for live updates.

• US envoy in Middle East: White House special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel today and will travel to Gaza to inspect aid delivery on Friday, according to the White House. The visit comes as Netanyahu faces increasing global pressure to allow more food and medical supplies into the Palestinian enclave. • Palestinian statehood: Canada said it will recognize a Palestinian state in September. The move follows similar announcements by France, which said it will recognize a Palestinian state, and the UK, which said it will follow suit if Israel does not take steps that include a Gaza ceasefire. • Starvation crisis: Hunger and danger when accessing aid continue to plague Gaza. Overnight, dozens of people were killed and hundreds injured in northern Gaza after Israeli forces opened fire near an aid site, the enclave’s health ministry said. President Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee will travel to Gaza on Friday, the White House announced, amid widespread starvation and deteriorating humanitarian conditions in the enclave. Witkoff and Huckabee “will brief the president immediately after their visit to approve a final plan for food and aid distribution into the region,” she said, adding that the White House will provide more details “once that plan is approved and agreed on by the president of the United States.” This will mark Witkoff’s second trip to Gaza. Shortly after Trump took office in January, Witkoff visited the enclave, becoming the first US official to do so in more than a decade.