President Trump said Sunday the U.S. would provide more aid to Gaza amid widespread concerns about starvation.
Ahead of meetings with European officials in Scotland, the president said he was looking to enlist international partners to get relief into Gaza.
“The U.S. is going to do more aid for Gaza but we’d like to have other countries participate,” Mr. Trump told reporters. “We’re going to mention that to the European Union today. It’s an international problem, it’s not a U.S. problem, it’s an international problem.”
Mr. Trump said he also spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the two discussed a range of topics, including Iran.
The Israeli government issued a tactical pause in fighting in Gaza on Sunday to allow for aid delivery amid reports of escalating starvation.
As accounts of malnourishment soared, the Israeli Defense Forces said Sunday it would implement a “local tactical pause” to increase the scale of humanitarian aid in Gaza for 10 hours each day in Al-Mawasi, Deir al-Balah and Gaza City.
“The IDF will continue to support humanitarian efforts alongside ongoing maneuvering and offensive operations against terrorist organizations in Gaza, in order to protect Israeli civilians,” the IDF said on X. “The IDF is prepared to expand the scale of this activity as required.”
The IDF said the pause would recur every day until further notice and there would be designated secure routes for the aid in place each day to ensure the safe passage of United Nations and other aid organization convoys.
Rachael Cummings, Save the Children’s Gaza humanitarian director, said Sunday that people are horrifically malnourished in Gaza.
“The situation in Gaza is catastrophic for children and increasingly now for adults,” Ms. Cummings told ABC. “There is no food available in the market. Children are literally starving.”
After visiting her organization’s outpost in Deir al-Balah earlier on Sunday, she said she had never seen a center so packed with starving people in her more than 20 years working in humanitarian relief worldwide.
“Every child in the health center today was malnourished but also every adult was extremely thin, gaunt-looking, exhausted,” she said on “This Week.” “The situation is absolutely terrible here.”
Alarms of famine have sounded for months in locations where Israel has restricted aid. Israel has said Hamas attackers capture the aid to cement their grip on power.
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said Sunday that Hamas is responsible for the terrible situation in Gaza.
“We know who we’re dealing with, they’re monsters, effectively, and the situation in Gaza is a reflection of the Gazan people being the first victims of this terrorist group,” Ms. Bruce told Fox News.
Before announcing the tactical pause, the IDF disputed claims of human starvation.
“The IDF emphasizes that there is no starvation in Gaza; this is a false campaign promoted by Hamas,” the IDF said on X. “Responsibility for food distribution lies with the UN & international aid organizations. Therefore, the UN and international organizations are expected to improve the effectiveness of aid distribution and to ensure that the aid does not reach Hamas.”
The IDF subsequently posted video footage of its aerial drops of its aid, which it has said includes flour, sugar, and canned food.
Mr. Trump also cited concerns about Hamas stealing aid in remarks to reporters.
“If we weren’t there, I think people would have starved, frankly, they would have starved, and it’s not like they’re eating well,” Mr. Trump said in Scotland. “But a lot of that food is getting stolen by Hamas. They’re stealing the food, they’re stealing a lot of things.”
Ms. Bruce said the U.S. is looking to prevent the weaponization of food aid.
“There is a template in which we can get food in, they have done some air drops, the president has called for new ideas in how to deal with this and that’s what we support,” Ms. Bruce said.
While issuing local pauses in fighting, the battle raged elsewhere this weekend. At least 38 people were killed in strikes from late Saturday into Sunday, according to health officials in Gaza, including 23 people seeking aid.
• This article is based in part on wire service reports.
