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President Donald Trump pledged July 28 to work with European allies to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, breaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by acknowledging “real starvation” among children in the region.
Trump made the remarks during a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Scotland after reporters asked whether he agreed with Netanyahu’s claim that starvation does not exist in Gaza.
“I don’t know… Based on television, I would say, not particularly,” Trump said. “Because those children look very hungry.”
He added that the US is “giving a lot of money and a lot of food. And other nations are now stepping up. I know that this nation is.”
Later in the meeting, Trump expressed hope that American and international aid could “save a lot of people.”
“Some of those kids are — that’s real starvation stuff. I see it,” he said, “and you can’t fake that.”
Starmer called the situation in Gaza “desperate” and a “humanitarian crisis,” saying images of starving children have shocked the British public.
“Seeing those images of starving children, in particular, are revolting,” Starmer said. “There’s a sense of revulsion in the British public… They know, we know, that humanitarian aid needs to get in at speed, at volume.”
The President’s comments come amid intensifying global condemnation of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
On July 25, more than 200 members of the British Parliament signed a letter calling for immediate recognition of a Palestinian state, according to POLITICO. Starmer called the recognition of Palestinian statehood an “inalienable right of the Palestinian people.” Last week, French President Emmanuel Macron also announced his country would recognize Palestine as a state.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio pushed back. In a July 24 X post, he said that the US “strongly rejects” Macron’s “reckless decision” to recognize a Palestinian state.
Trump, by contrast, declined to weigh in on Palestinian statehood, telling reporters he wasn’t “going to take a position.”
Trump said he spoke with Netanyahu over the weekend and urged him to change course.
“I told Israel, I told Bibi, that you have to now maybe do it a different way,” he said, according to POLITICO.
He also criticized Hamas for failing to release hostages.
On July 26, the Israel Defense Forces announced it would open humanitarian corridors in Gaza for United Nations aid convoys and implement “humanitarian pauses” in densely populated areas, Reuters reported.
