By Enyichukwu Enemanna
United States President, Donald Trump, says he disagrees with the claim by Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, that there was no starvation in Gaza.
Trump spoke to reporters on Monday from one of his golf courses in Scotland, where he met British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Trump was asked if he agreed with Netanyahu’s remarks about concerns of mass starvation in Gaza being overstated, and he replied, “I don’t know. I mean, based on television, I would say not particularly because those children look very hungry.”
Starmer described the humanitarian crisis in Gaza as “an absolute catastrophe” and “a desperate situation.”
“People in Britain are revolted at seeing what they’re seeing on their screens. So we’ve got to get to that ceasefire,” Starmer said.
The UK Prime Minister wants Washington’s help in convincing Israel to allow more aid into Gaza and attempting to end what Downing Street called “the unspeakable suffering and starvation” while pushing for a ceasefire.
Britain, along with France and Germany, has criticised Israel for “withholding essential humanitarian assistance” as hunger spreads in Gaza.
Over the weekend, Starmer said Britain will take part in efforts led by Jordan to airdrop aid after Israel temporarily eased restrictions.
But British Business Secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, acknowledged on Monday that only the US has “the leverage” to make a real difference.
Trump spoke before the meeting with Starmer about wanting to help starving children, but he has also repeatedly complained about the US not getting enough credit for organising past aid distributions in Gaza.
“Nobody said even thank you,” he said. “Somebody should say thank you.”
Leading humanitarian and human rights organisations have condemned the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) as “a dangerous, politicised sham.”
Nearly 900 Gazan people have been killed in recent weeks while attempting to get food, most of them “in the vicinity of GHF sites”, the United Nations Human Rights Office said on 13 July.
On Sunday, UN agencies warned of “catastrophic hunger” in Gaza after Israel pledged to implement daily pauses in fighting to allow some humanitarian aid into the enclave.
