By Jack Phillips
Contributing Writer
President Donald Trump said on Monday that the No. 1 priority in Gaza is getting people fed amid the nearly two-year Hamas-Israel conflict.
Trump, speaking alongside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at his golf resort in Scotland, told reporters that the United States had provided $60 million for humanitarian aid and that other nations would have to step up.
“We’re giving a lot of money and a lot of food, and other nations are now stepping up,” Trump said, referring to U.S. aid efforts in Gaza. “It’s a mess. They have to get food and safety right now.”
Trump made note of images and footage of what appear to be starving children in Gaza.
“Based on television … those children look very hungry,” he said.
Trump later told reporters, “Some of those kids are — that’s real starvation stuff.”
Starmer agreed with the president, telling reporters on Monday: “It’s a humanitarian crisis, right? It’s an absolute catastrophe. … I think people in Britain are revolted at seeing what they’re seeing on their screen.”
Trump’s remarks came during a meeting with Starmer, following several European countries’ recent calls for an end to the war. The United Kingdom, France and Germany released a joint statement on Friday that said Israel and Hamas, a terrorist organization, should “bring an end to the conflict by reaching an immediate cease-fire” and that more food aid should be brought in.
Israel carried out an air drop and announced a series of measures over the weekend to improve access for aid, including daily humanitarian pauses in three areas of Gaza and new safe corridors for convoys.
“Israel is presented as though we are applying a campaign of starvation in Gaza. What a bald-faced lie. There is no policy of starvation in Gaza, and there is no starvation in Gaza,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday, denying claims of famine or mass starvation.
During the press event, Trump criticized Hamas for not agreeing to release more hostages, living or dead, and indicated he had told Netanyahu that Israel’s approach would likely have to change.
“I told Bibi that you have to maybe do it a different way,” Trump said, echoing similar comments made on Sunday and using a nickname for Netanyahu.
Last week, the United States exited negotiations in Qatar without a cease-fire deal, special envoy Steve Witkoff said in a statement. Witkoff said that Hamas wasn’t acting in good faith with the talks, leading him to pull officials from the negotiations.
When asked whether a cease-fire was still possible, Trump said, “Yeah, a cease-fire is possible, but you have to get it, you have to end it.”
Hamas has said it is willing to release hostages under a cease-fire agreement with Israel. It submitted its response to a U.S.-backed cease-fire proposal on July 24 at talks in Qatar. Hours later, both Israel and the United States withdrew.
During a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Trump said Israel would have to make a decision after the breakdown in cease-fire talks.
Reuters contributed to this report.
