Netanyahu meets with Witkoff, and the fate of the negotiations and the starvation of Gaza are on the table.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is meeting with US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff in West Jerusalem to discuss the fate of the negotiations on Gaza and the starvation of Palestinians in the enclave.

Netanyahu, who is wanted by international justice, wrote on Twitter on Thursday: "I am meeting now with US Presidential Envoy to the Middle East, Witkoff."

Later, his office said in a statement that the meeting would be held at Netanyahu's office in West Jerusalem.

Neither Netanyahu nor his office addressed the issues on the table at the meeting.

However, Channel 12 (private) reported earlier that Witkov arrived in Israel on Thursday to discuss two main issues: "the continued fighting in Gaza and the humanitarian situation in the Strip."

According to the latest figures from the Ministry of Health in Gaza, released Wednesday, the death toll has reached 154 Palestinians, including 89 children, as a result of the ongoing Israeli starvation policy since October 7, 2023.

Since that day, Israel has waged a war of genocide in Gaza, including killing, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement, ignoring all international calls and orders from the International Court of Justice to halt it.

The US-backed genocide left more than 207,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 9,000 missing, in addition to hundreds of thousands of displaced persons and a famine that claimed the lives of many.

The channel added: "The dilemma facing Israel's political and security leadership is intensifying with the difficult images emerging from Gaza," referring to the victims of Israel's systematic starvation policy.

"A decision must be made between moving towards a ceasefire deal and releasing the abductees (prisoners) or expanding combat operations to include the occupation and annexation of parts of the Gaza Strip," according to the channel.

Tel Aviv estimates there are 50 Israeli prisoners in Gaza, 20 of whom are still alive. Meanwhile, more than 10,800 Palestinians are languishing in its prisons, suffering torture, starvation, and medical neglect, many of whom have died, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights and media reports.

Days ago, Israel withdrew from indirect negotiations with Hamas in Qatar due to Tel Aviv's intransigence on the withdrawal from Gaza, ending the war, Palestinian prisoners, and the aid distribution mechanism.

The channel added, "The second and most prominent reason for Witkoff's visit is the disturbing images emerging from Gaza and the intense international pressure on Israel to provide extensive humanitarian aid to the Strip's residents."

Witkoff is expected to visit one of the aid distribution centers of the American Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in the Gaza Strip, according to the channel.

She added that the visit to the center aims to "gaze up close at hand at the difficult humanitarian situation in Gaza, especially the hunger that has spread to many areas."

Palestinians assert that the aid distribution mechanism through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which has been ongoing since May 27 with Israeli support, aims to gather them and force them to leave their lands, paving the way for the reoccupation of Gaza.

Since the launch of this mechanism, 1,239 Palestinian deaths and more than 8,152 injuries have been reported to hospitals, as a result of repeated Israeli army fire on Palestinians waiting for aid, according to the Ministry of Health.

The channel added that "Wittkopf's need to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza stems not only from concern for the Palestinians in the Strip, but also from growing popular and political pressure in the United States."

On Sunday, the Israeli military announced its "authorization" of limited airdrops of humanitarian aid to Gaza, and the initiation of what it called a "tactical suspension of military activities" in specific areas of Gaza to allow the passage of aid.

International organizations considered Israel's move to be "promoting the illusion of aid" and "media deception," as its army continues to use starvation as a weapon against Palestinian civilians by closing the crossings to aid since last March.

Dozens of families of Israeli prisoners demonstrated outside Netanyahu's office on Thursday, demanding an immediate agreement to return their loved ones from Gaza.

At the demonstration, the families of the prisoners called on Witkov to pressure Netanyahu to conclude an agreement.

Hamas has repeatedly declared its willingness to release Israeli prisoners "in one batch" in exchange for an end to the war of extermination, the withdrawal of the Israeli army from Gaza, and the release of Palestinian prisoners.

But Netanyahu is evading the situation by proposing new conditions, including the disarmament of Palestinian factions, and is currently insisting on reoccupying Gaza.

The opposition and the families of the prisoners assert that he is continuing the war to maintain his position, fearing the collapse of his government if the most extremist faction, which refuses to end the war, withdraws.

For decades, Israel has occupied Palestine and territories in Syria and Lebanon, and refuses to withdraw from these territories and establish an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, along the pre-1967 borders.