Gaza experiencing 'actual hunger', Donald Trump says

[ad_1] David Gritten BBC Information, Jerusalem

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/6f04/live/a66cc050-6bab-11f0-8dbd-f3d32ebd3327.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/6f04/live/a66cc050-6bab-11f0-8dbd-f3d32ebd3327.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/6f04/live/a66cc050-6bab-11f0-8dbd-f3d32ebd3327.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/6f04/live/a66cc050-6bab-11f0-8dbd-f3d32ebd3327.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/6f04/live/a66cc050-6bab-11f0-8dbd-f3d32ebd3327.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/6f04/live/a66cc050-6bab-11f0-8dbd-f3d32ebd3327.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/6f04/live/a66cc050-6bab-11f0-8dbd-f3d32ebd3327.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/6f04/live/a66cc050-6bab-11f0-8dbd-f3d32ebd3327.jpg.webp" loading="eager" alt="Reuters A Palestinian man carries a bag with aid supplies that entered Gaza, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza (27 July 2025)" class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> Reuters Tom Fletcher, UN humanitarian chief, stated many of the UN's meals lorries have been looted by desperately hungry Palestinians after getting into Gaza on Sunday

There may be "actual hunger" in Gaza, Donald Trump has stated, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted there was no such factor.

Requested if he agreed with Netanyahu that it was a "bold-faced lie" to say Israel was fuelling starvation in Gaza, the US president replied: "I do not know... these youngsters look very hungry... that is actual hunger stuff."

Talking throughout a gathering with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Scotland, Trump stated: "No person's accomplished something nice over there. The entire place is a large number... I informed Israel perhaps they must do it a distinct method."

His feedback got here after the UN's humanitarian chief stated "huge quantities" of meals have been wanted to stave off hunger.

Donald Trump says there "is actual hunger" in Gaza

Tom Fletcher informed the BBC he welcomed Israel's measures over the weekend to permit extra support into Gaza within the type of airdrops, and navy pauses to permit meals convoys to achieve individuals.

However he stated what had been delivered to date was simply "a drop within the ocean" of what was required.

"It is the start, however the subsequent few days are actually make or break. We have to ship at a a lot, a lot higher scale. We want huge quantities of support stepping into, a lot quicker," he informed BBC Radio 4's At present programme.

Israel stated 120 lorry hundreds have been collected from crossings on Sunday through the first day by day 10-hour "tactical pause" in navy operations, and that Jordan and the United Arab Emirates airdropped 28 packages of meals.

Hours after Mr Fletcher spoke, the territory's Hamas-run well being ministry stated one other 14 individuals had died because of malnutrition over the previous 24 hours.

That introduced the full variety of malnutrition-related deaths for the reason that warfare start in October 2023 to 147, together with 88 youngsters, in response to the ministry.

Israel, which controls the entry of all provides to Gaza, has denied there may be hunger in Gaza and rejected accusations of being liable for meals shortages.

On Sunday, the Israeli navy started actions that it stated would enhance the "humanitarian response" in Gaza and disprove "the false declare of deliberate hunger".

Israel introduced there can be a "native tactical pause" in three areas of Gaza for 10 hours a day, as nicely the institution of "designated safe routes" for support convoys.

The navy additionally allowed support drops carried out by international international locations to renew, regardless of humanitarian businesses warning that the tactic was ineffective and harmful.

Israeli navy physique Cogat, which co-ordinates the entry of support into Gaza, stated greater than 120 lorry a great deal of support have been collected from crossings by the UN and different worldwide organisations on Sunday, and that a whole bunch extra lorry hundreds have been awaiting assortment.

Mr Fletcher stated the UN had collected fewer than 100 lorry hundreds in that point, and famous that 600 to 700 hundreds had entered Gaza day by day on common through the two-month ceasefire between Israel and Hamas at the beginning of this 12 months.

Requested to reply to Israel's criticism of UN businesses for not gathering support from crossings, he stated: "We're not going to depart on pallets if we will. However to get to it our drivers face bureaucratic constraints, they face large safety constraints."

He additionally stated that many of the UN's meals lorries have been looted after getting into Gaza on Sunday.

"Most of these lorries... have been hit by determined particular person civilians, ravenous. The flour was taken off these lorries and its very, very harmful for our drivers."

Mr Fletcher additionally warned that UN groups on the bottom believed the Israeli navy's pauses would solely final every week or so, which he stated can be "clearly inadequate when earlier than our eyes we're seeing this twenty first Century atrocity on the bottom".

"We want a sustained interval of supply - weeks, months - to construct up, to cease that hunger and construct up the provides once more. In the end, we'd like a ceasefire. Pauses are a superb step in the proper route, however stopping the battle is the important thing."

Netanyahu on Sunday savaged claims that Israel was intentionally ravenous civilians in Gaza, which might quantity to a warfare crime.

"What a bold-faced lie. There isn't any coverage of hunger in Gaza, and there's no hunger in Gaza." he stated.

"We allow humanitarian support all through the length of the warfare to enter Gaza. In any other case, there can be no Gazans. And what has interdicted the availability of humanitarian support is one pressure, Hamas. Once more, the reversal of fact," he added.

Netanyahu stated the Israeli navy's humanitarian pauses and corridors meant the UN had "no excuses left" to not gather and distribute all the help from the crossings.

"Cease mendacity. Cease discovering excuses. Do what you must do."

On Monday night time, Netanyahu's workplace stated Israel would work with support teams, the US and European nations to make sure "giant quantities of humanitarian support flows" into Gaza.

An announcement stated the "scenario in Gaza is tough" however that Hamas "advantages from making an attempt to gas the notion of a humanitarian disaster", by releasing "unverified numbers" and "circulating photographs which can be fastidiously stage or manipulated".

The Israeli authorities doesn't enable worldwide information organisations, together with the BBC, into Gaza to report freely on the scenario there.

On Sunday, the World Well being Group warned that malnutrition was "on a harmful trajectory within the Gaza Strip, marked by a spike in deaths in July".

Of the 74 malnutrition-related deaths in Gaza in 2025, 63 had occurred this month, together with 24 youngsters below 5 and one little one over 5, the UN company stated.

"Most of those individuals have been declared useless on arrival at well being services or died shortly after, their our bodies exhibiting clear indicators of extreme losing," it added.

The WHO stated the disaster was "fully preventable" and condemned what it referred to as the "deliberate blocking and delay of large-scale meals, well being, and humanitarian support".

Hamas has denied stealing support, and on Sunday the New York Instances cited senior Israeli navy officers as saying that the navy had by no means discovered proof that the armed group had systematically stolen support from the UN. Reuters information company additionally reported final week that US authorities evaluation discovered no proof of systematic theft by Hamas of US-funded support.

On Monday, native hospital sources stated Israeli assaults throughout Gaza had killed greater than 30 individuals, together with support seekers.

The Israeli navy launched a marketing campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led assault on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, during which about 1,200 individuals have been killed and 251 others have been taken hostage.