Trump says ‘you can’t fake’ starvation images in Gaza; PM Netanyahu stresses: ‘Israel allows large amounts of aid’

U.S. President Donald Trump said he would tell Israel to make sure food reaches the Gazan population, as the international storm of outrage against Israel continued despite radical policy shifts by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“Israel paused IDF operations in key populated areas of Gaza from 10am to 8pm every day and designated secure routes from 6am to 11pm that will ensure the safe passage of more convoys delivering aid,” Netanyahu stated Monday.

“We already allow significant amounts of humanitarian aid into Gaza every single day, including food, water and medicine.”

Speaking to reporters during a trip in Scotland, Trump was asked whether he was convinced by Netanyahu’s insistence there was no widespread starvation in Gaza.

“Based on television, I would say not particularly, because those children look very hungry,” he replied, adding that “Israel can do a lot.”

Speaking about his next talk with the Israeli prime minister, Trump said, “I want him to make sure they get the food. I want to make sure they get the food, every ounce of food.”

However, the president also stressed that Hamas has responsibility for the situation: “We’ve given a lot of money to Gaza for food and everything else. A lot of that money is stolen by Hamas, and a lot of the food is stolen.”

Speaking to the press again later in the day, Trump reiterated, “Some of those kids are – that’s real starvation stuff, I see it. You can’t fake that. So we’re going to be even more involved.”

After announcing a sudden shift in the Gaza policy earlier this week, Netanyahu on Monday released a detailed statement explaining Israel’s actions while highlighting Hamas’s attempts to create a humanitarian crisis and use it to its advantage.

“Israel will continue to work with international agencies as well as the U.S. and European nations to ensure that large amounts of humanitarian aid flows into the Gaza Strip,” the prime minister vowed.

“Unfortunately, Hamas, which openly uses civilians as human shields, operates from hospitals and uses schools and kindergartens to store weapons, has been stealing aid from the Gaza population many times by shooting Palestinians.”

Acknowledging that “the situation in Gaza is difficult,” Netanyahu stressed that “Hamas benefits from attempting to fuel the perception of a humanitarian crisis.”

“As such, they have been releasing unverified numbers to the news media while circulating images that are carefully staged or manipulated by Hamas.”

In his comments, Trump had also reiterated that Hamas was the responsible party for the breakdown of the latest ceasefire talks, saying, “They don’t want to give hostages,” and that Hamas “were really unwilling to talk” during recent negotiations in Doha.

Netanyahu concluded by emphasizing that Israel is “fighting a just war, a moral war, a war for our survival. No country in the world would allow the continued rule in neighboring territory of a terror group bent on its destruction… Hamas boasts they will repeat the Oct. 7 massacre over and over.”

“We’ll continue to act responsibly, as we always have, and we’ll continue to seek the return of our hostages and the defeat of Hamas. That is the only way to secure peace for Israelis and Palestinians alike.”