Trump: Many starving in Gaza, food centres to be set up
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CAIRO: US President Donald Trump said on Monday (Jul 28) that many people in Gaza are starving and urged Israel to do more to improve humanitarian access, as Palestinians struggled to feed their families just one day after Israel announced new steps to ease aid deliveries.
As the war in Gaza nears its second anniversary, local health authorities say nearly 60,000 people have been killed and an increasing number are now dying from hunger and malnutrition. Images of emaciated children have sparked global outrage and growing criticism of Israel over the worsening humanitarian conditions.
Describing the situation as one of real starvation, Trump’s comments appeared to diverge from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said on Sunday that “there is no starvation in Gaza,” a statement he reposted on X on Monday.
However, Netanyahu later acknowledged that conditions in Gaza were "difficult" and said Israel was working with international agencies, the US and European countries to ensure a steady flow of humanitarian aid.
Speaking during a visit to Scotland, Trump said Israel had a responsibility to ensure aid delivery. “You have a lot of starving people,” he told reporters. "We're going to set up food centres," with no fences or boundaries to ease access, he added, noting that the US would work with other countries to deliver food and sanitation aid.
A White House spokesperson said additional details on the food centres would be "forthcoming."
The Gaza health ministry said at least 14 people had died in the past 24 hours from hunger, raising the total death toll from starvation to 147. Of those, 88 were children, most of whom died in recent weeks.
"WHEN YOU GO TO BED HUNGRY, YOU WAKE UP HUNGRY"
Over the weekend, Israel announced new humanitarian steps including daily pauses in fighting across three areas, additional corridors for aid trucks, and aerial drops of supplies. The announcement came shortly after the collapse of ceasefire talks on Friday.
Palestinians say conditions on the ground remain dire. Wessal Nabil, a mother of three in Beit Lahiya, said she was doing everything she could to calm her hungry children. “When you go to bed hungry, you wake up hungry,” she said. “We distract them with anything... to make them calm down.”
“I call on the world, on those with merciful hearts, to be kind to us, to ensure that aid reaches us,” she added.
Israeli defence officials said growing international pressure and deteriorating conditions had prompted the new humanitarian measures.
UN WARNS OF WORSENING HUNGER
United Nations agencies stressed the need for consistent and large-scale aid. The World Food Programme said it sent 60 trucks on Monday, below its target. Nearly 470,000 people are in famine-like conditions, the agency said, including 90,000 women and children in urgent need of therapeutic nutrition.
“Our target at the moment, every day, is to get 100 trucks into Gaza,” said WFP Regional Director Samer AbdelJaber.
Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said the crisis is worsening by the day. “Children are dying every single day from starvation, from preventable disease. So time has run out,” he told Reuters.
Netanyahu has denied accusations of using starvation as a war tactic. A COGAT spokesperson said there was no time limit on the new pauses, contradicting the UN’s statement that Israel had agreed to a one-week humanitarian scale-up.
“We hope this pause will last much longer than a week, ultimately turning into a permanent ceasefire,” said UN aid chief Tom Fletcher’s spokesperson, Eri Kaneko.
A UN spokesperson said there had only been a “small uptick” in aid transported into Gaza since Israel’s humanitarian pauses began.
TRUMP AND NETANYAHU DISCUSS HOSTAGE PLANS
Trump also said Hamas had become more difficult to deal with in recent days but confirmed he was discussing "various plans" with Netanyahu to secure the release of hostages still held in Gaza.
The war began on Oct 7, 2023, when Hamas fighters crossed into southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli authorities. Since then, Israel has carried out an intense military campaign in Gaza.
The Gaza health ministry said Israeli strikes had killed 98 Palestinians in the past 24 hours.
Some aid trucks that reached Gaza were reportedly seized by desperate civilians and armed groups. “Aid comes for the strong who can push ahead and grab a sack of flour,” said Emad, a 58-year-old former factory owner in Gaza City. “That chaos must be stopped.”
The Hamas-run Gaza government said only 87 aid trucks entered the enclave on Monday, blaming widespread looting on what it called "direct and systematic Israeli complicity."
The WFP said it has 170,000 metric tonnes of food in the region, enough to feed Gaza’s entire population for three months if granted access.
COGAT said more than 120 truckloads of aid were delivered in Gaza on Sunday by the UN and partner agencies. More aid was expected Monday, with Qatar sending 49 trucks via Egypt. Jordan and the UAE also conducted supply airdrops.
Israel had cut off aid in March to pressure Hamas to release hostages, resuming deliveries under tighter controls in May. Hamas accuses Israel of weaponising hunger. Israel says it complies with international law and blames Hamas for the suffering
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