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‘Children look very hungry’: Donald Trump says starvation in Gaza is ‘real’, proposes ‘food centres’
Donald Trump said the US will fund food centres in Gaza and work with “very good people” to ensure aid reaches civilians without barriers blocking access.
US President Donald Trump on Monday said Washington would work with other governments and organisations, including the UK and the European Union, to set up “food centres” in Gaza, as images from the war-hit territory showed what he called clear signs of starvation.
Trump made the comments during a meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at his Turnberry golf resort in Scotland.
Responding to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s claim that there is “no starvation” in Gaza, Trump said, “Based on television, I would say not particularly because those children look very hungry… That’s real starvation stuff, I see it, and you can’t fake that.”
Netanyahu denies famine in Gaza
Netanyahu has maintained that there is no famine in Gaza, despite growing international alarm and warnings from humanitarian agencies.
Trump said the US would fund the food centres and coordinate efforts with “some very good people.”
“We’re going to set up food centres and we’re going to do it in conjunction with some very good people,” he said, adding, “We’re also going to make sure that they don’t have barriers stopping people.”
He added that Israel bears “a lot of responsibility” for the crisis, but added that Netanyahu’s government is “hampered” by the presence of hostages and the alleged diversion of aid by Hamas.
While Starmer did not elaborate on the plan, he said efforts to ease the suffering in Gaza must accelerate.
“People in Britain are revolted by what they’re seeing,” he said. “We’ve got to get to that ceasefire. And thank you, Mr President, for leading on that, and also to just get more and more aid in,” he added.
Starmer said humanitarian aid must be delivered at “speed and volume” and called for more international engagement. “We need to galvanise other countries in support of getting that aid in, and yes, that does involve putting pressure on Israel,” he said.
With Bloomberg inputs
