US President Donald Trump on Monday acknowledged that starvation in Gaza is real and said Israel should do more to facilitate humanitarian access, as Palestinians in the war-ravaged enclave awaited aid a day after Israel announced new measures to improve supply routes.
Speaking during a visit to Scotland, Trump said Israel holds significant responsibility for ensuring the flow of aid and stressed that many lives could be saved.
"You have a lot of starving people," he said. "We are going to set up food centres," he added, stating that these would have no fences or boundaries to ease access.
Trump said the US would collaborate with other countries to provide more humanitarian assistance to Gaza, including food and sanitation.
Hamas 'shall be there no more'
His remarks put him at odds with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who denied any starvation in Gaza and reaffirmed Israel’s military objectives.
“We will continue to fight till we achieve the release of our hostages and the destruction of Hamas' military and governing capabilities. They shall be there no more," Netanyahu said.
He rejected the suggestion that Israel had adopted any policy of starvation, saying aid flows would continue regardless of whether negotiations were underway or fighting was ongoing.
Nearly 60,000 dead
According to Gaza’s health ministry, at least 14 people died in the past 24 hours from starvation and malnutrition, bringing the total number of hunger-related deaths since the start of the war to 147.
Of those, 88 were children, most of whom died in recent weeks. The broader death toll from the war has now approached 60,000 over nearly two years, according to Gaza health authorities.
Images of emaciated children have sparked international outrage and intensified criticism of Israel over the worsening humanitarian conditions in the enclave.
In response to the dire situation, Israel over the weekend announced several measures aimed at expanding aid access.
These included daily humanitarian pauses in three areas of Gaza, the creation of new safe corridors for aid convoys, and continued airdrops of essential supplies. The announcement came after the collapse of ceasefire talks on Friday.
Despite these steps, UN agencies have called for a more consistent and long-term supply of aid. The World Food Programme said 60 trucks had been dispatched recently, falling short of the agency’s daily target. "Our target at the moment, every day is to get 100 trucks into Gaza," said Samer AbdelJaber, WFP Regional Director for the Middle East, North Africa, and Eastern Europe.
The WFP reported that nearly 470,000 people in Gaza are enduring famine-like conditions, with 90,000 women and children in urgent need of specialized nutritional treatment.
The agency added that it currently has 170,000 metric tons of food stockpiled in the region outside Gaza, enough to feed the entire population for three months if given clearance to enter.
'Children are dying every single day'
Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, described the situation as catastrophic. "At this time, children are dying every single day from starvation, from preventable disease. So time has run out," he said. "The catastrophe is here. Children are dying from starvation, and it is manmade by Israel from A to Z."
Israeli military aid coordination agency COGAT said that over 120 trucks were distributed in Gaza on Sunday by the United Nations and international organizations. However, the distribution process has been chaotic. Some of the trucks were intercepted by desperate civilians and some by armed looters, witnesses said.
Palestinians in Gaza described the struggle to secure food for their families in overcrowded tent encampments. Emad, a 58-year-old former factory owner in Gaza City, said that only the strongest are able to push through the crowd and grab aid. "That chaos must be stopped and protection for those trucks must be allowed," he said.
'Who will feed us'
Wessal Nabil, from Beit Lahiya, said her injured husband could not collect aid and she had failed to secure any herself. "So who will feed us? Who will give us to drink?" she asked.
According to Al-Jazeera, Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians waiting for food at multiple sites in Gaza, killing at least 23 people and wounding many others. More than 60 people have reportedly died in such attacks since dawn.
Qatar said it had sent 49 trucks that arrived in Egypt en route to Gaza. Jordan and the United Arab Emirates have airdropped supplies. Israel had halted aid deliveries in early March to pressure Hamas into releasing hostages but resumed with new restrictions in May.
Hamas, which still holds dozens of hostages, accuses Israel of using hunger as a weapon. Trump said Hamas had become difficult to deal with in recent days but confirmed he was in talks with Netanyahu about various plans to free the remaining hostages.
The conflict began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a deadly cross-border attack on southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage, according to Israeli figures.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, speaking at talks on a two-state solution, condemned the destruction in Gaza. "Nothing can justify the obliteration of Gaza that has unfolded before the eyes of the world," he said.
(With inputs from Reuters)