President Donald Trump directly challenged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's assertions about Gaza's humanitarian situation, telling reporters that Palestinian children "look very hungry" on television and declaring "That's real starvation. I see it, and you can't fake that," during a press briefing at his Turnberry golf property in Scotland. Trump pledged, "We'll be helping with the food ... We're also going to make sure that they don't have barriers stopping people ... We can save a lot of people."
The president revealed extensive details about unacknowledged American humanitarian assistance before meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
"We gave $60 million two weeks ago for food for Gaza. And nobody acknowledged, nobody talks about it. And it makes you feel a little bad when you do that. And you know, you have other countries not giving anything... And it would be nice to have at least a thank you," Trump said.
When questioned about Netanyahu's assertion that no starvation exists in Gaza, Trump replied, "I don't know. I mean, based on television, I would say, not particularly because those children look very hungry," adding, "They have to get food and safety right now."
Trump provided detailed accounts of meetings with hostage families, describing his assessment of the situation with Hamas. "I mean, they're [hostages' families] devastated. And I said, when you get it down to a certain number, you're not going to be able to make a deal with Hamas, because once they give them up, then they feel that that's going to be the end of them. And what I said is exactly true. You know, they had a routine discussion the other day and all of a sudden they hardened up. They don't want to give them back. And so Israel's going to have to make a decision."
Trump voiced concerns about widespread theft affecting humanitarian operations in Gaza, saying, "People are stealing the food, they're stealing the money, they're stealing the money for the food. They're stealing weapons. They're stealing everything. It's a mess. That whole place is a mess."
The president criticized Israel's historical withdrawal from Gaza as counterproductive, explaining, "The Gaza Strip, you know, was given many years ago so that they could have peace. That didn't work out too well...It was not exactly a very clever thing to do because that was given so that they finally have peace. And it's actually made the situation worse."
The president clarified his immediate priorities, stating he was not positioning himself on Palestinian statehood recognition but focusing on urgent humanitarian needs, describing his current approach as "dealing with feeding people now, that's the first thing."
