Donald Trump says 'real starvation' in Gaza, challenges Netanyahu's claim

US President Donald Trump said the US will coordinate with other nations to provide more aid in Gaza, after the UN warned that vast food supplies are needed to prevent widespread starvation

US President Donald Trump has acknowledged there is “real starvation” in Gaza, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that such a situation does not exist.

 

While meeting UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Scotland, Trump remarked: “Nobody's done anything great over there. The whole place is a mess. I told Israel maybe they have to do it a different way.” 

 

Speaking to the media, Trump was asked whether he agreed with Netanyahu’s assertion that claims of Israeli responsibility for hunger were a “bold-faced lie”. The US President responded, “I don't know. Those children look very hungry. That's real starvation stuff.” 

 

 

He further stated that the US would collaborate with other nations to increase humanitarian support for the people of Gaza, including the provision of food and sanitation. “We're going to set up food centers,” Trump said, emphasising that they would be established with no fences to ensure easier access.

 

UN official warns food aid still far from sufficient 

 

Trump’s remarks followed warnings from the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, who stressed that “vast amounts” of food were urgently needed to prevent starvation in Gaza.

 

Speaking to the BBC, Fletcher welcomed Israel’s recent actions to allow more aid into the region, such as airdrops and temporary military pauses to facilitate food convoys. However, he noted that the deliveries thus far represented only “a drop in the ocean” compared to what was actually needed.

 

  Israel reports aid deliveries amid continued denial of starvation

 

On July 27, Israel reported that 120 lorries were cleared to carry aid through border crossings during the first daily 10-hour “tactical pause” in military operations. In addition, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates conducted airdrops, delivering 28 food packages.

 

Despite these efforts, Israel has continued to deny the presence of starvation in Gaza and has rejected allegations that it is responsible for the humanitarian crisis. The country maintains control over all supply entries into the enclave.

 

Malnutrition death toll in Gaza reaches 147

 

Shortly after Fletcher’s interview, the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza reported that 14 more individuals had died from malnutrition within the previous 24 hours. According to the ministry, this brings the total number of malnutrition-related deaths since the conflict began in October 2023 to 147, including 88 children.

 

60,000 killed in Israel's offensive

 

The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants entered southern Israel, killing 1,200 people—mostly civilians—and taking 251 hostages back into Gaza. Since then, the Israeli military offensive has reportedly killed nearly 60,000 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to figures from Gaza’s health authorities. The ongoing conflict has devastated much of the territory and forced nearly the entire population into displacement.