Read more
Donald Trump said images of hungry children show “real starvation” that one can’t “fake”.
US President Donald Trump (R) meets with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 4, 2025. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP)
US President Donald Trump has contradicted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying that Palestinians in Gaza are facing real starvation.
His remarks came after Netanyahu declared on Sunday that “there is no starvation in Gaza, no policy of starvation in Gaza”.
Trump rejected these claims and said images of hungry children show “real starvation” that one can’t “fake”.
Gaza starvation
Aid agencies have for months been saying that an Israeli blockade on the supply of food, fuel and medication is killing Palestinians in the enclave.
The United States already backs food centres under the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, but the UN says hundreds of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops while trying to access these and other humanitarian aid sites.
ALSO READ: Israel accused of starving Gaza ‘by design’ — South Africa addresses ICJ
No ‘bold-faced lie’
Asked on Monday if he agreed with Netanyahu that it was a “bold-faced lie” to say Israel was fuelling hunger in Gaza, Trump said television shows another side to what the Israeli prime minister had uttered.
“I don’t know, I mean, based on television, I would say not particularly because those children look very hungry, but we’re giving a lot of money and a lot of food and other nations are now stepping up, I know that this nation [Scotland] is.”
Reporter: Netanyahu said there is no starvation in Gaza. Do you agree with him?
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 28, 2025
Trump: I don’t know. Based on television, I would say not particularly pic.twitter.com/tSkGClKhc4
‘Gaza is a mess’
Speaking during a meeting with UK Prime minister Keir Starmer, Trump said: “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.”
His comments followed the UN’s humanitarian chief’s statement that “vast amounts” of food were needed to avert starvation.
War deaths
Israel’s war in Gaza has killed 59 921 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
The Hamas 7 October 2023, attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1 219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
ALSO READ: Israeli strikes kill children collecting water in Gaza
