US President Donald Trump said on Monday many people were starving in Gaza and suggested Israel could do more on humanitarian access, as desperate Palestinians hoped for aid a day after the Israeli military announced steps to improve supplies.
As the death toll from two years of war in Gaza nears 60,000, a growing number of people are dying from starvation and malnutrition, Gaza health authorities say, with images of starving children shocking the world and fueling international criticism of Israel over sharply worsening conditions.
Describing starvation in Gaza as real, Trump's assessment put him at odds with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said on Monday "there is no starvation in Gaza" and vowed to fight on against the Palestinian group Hamas.
Trump, speaking during a visit to Scotland, said Israel has a lot of responsibility for aid flows, and that a lot of people could be saved. "You have a lot of starving people," he said.
"We're going to set up food centers," with no fences or boundaries to ease access, Trump said. The US would work with other countries to provide more humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza, including food and sanitation, he said.
On Monday, the Gaza health ministry said at least 14 people had died in the past 24 hours of starvation and malnutrition, bringing the war's death toll from hunger to 147, including 88 children, most in just the last few weeks.
Israel announced several measures over the weekend, including daily humanitarian pauses in three areas of Gaza, new safe corridors for aid convoys, and airdrops. The decision followed the collapse of ceasefire talks on Friday.
UN agencies said a long-term steady supply of aid was needed. The World Food Program said 60 trucks of aid had been dispatched - short of the target. Almost 470,000 people in Gaza are enduring famine-like conditions, with 90,000 women and children in need of specialist nutrition treatments, it said.
"Our target at the moment, every day is to get 100 trucks into Gaza," WFP Regional Director for the Middle East, North Africa, and Eastern Europe, Samer Abdel Jaber, told Reuters.
Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, told Reuters the situation is catastrophic.
"At this time, children are dying every single day from starvation, from preventable disease. So time has run out," he said. "The catastrophe is here," he said. "Children are dying from starvation, and it's manmade by Israel from A to Z."
Netanyahu denied any policy of starvation towards Gaza, saying aid supplies would be kept up whether Israel was negotiating a ceasefire or fighting, he said.
HAMAS 'SHALL BE THERE NO MORE'
"We will continue to fight till we achieve the release of our hostages and the destruction of Hamas' military and governing capabilities. They shall be there no more," Netanyahu said.
Trump said Hamas had become difficult to deal with in recent days, but he was talking with Netanyahu about "various plans" to free hostages still held in the enclave.
The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas fighters attacked communities in southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking another 251 hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
The Gaza health ministry said that 98 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the past 24 hours. In Gaza, Palestinians described the challenge of securing aid for their families living in tent encampments, a chaotic and often dangerous process.
"Currently aid comes for the strong who can race ahead, who can push others and grab a box or a sack of flour. That chaos must be stopped and protection for those trucks must be allowed," said Emad, 58, who used to own a factory in Gaza City.
While some manage to get aid, others are deprived, said Wessal Nabil, from Beit Lahiya.
She said her husband was unable to bring aid because of an injured leg. She had tried herself several times but without success. "So who will feed us? Who will give us to drink?" she told Reuters.
The WFP said it has 170,000 metric tons of food in the region, outside Gaza, which would be enough to feed the whole population for the next three months if it gets the clearance to bring into the enclave.
COGAT, the Israeli military aid coordination agency, said that over 120 trucks were distributed in Gaza on Sunday by the UN and international organizations.
Some of the trucks that made it into Gaza were seized by desperate Palestinians, and some by armed looters, witnesses said.
More aid was expected on Monday. Qatar said it had sent 49 trucks that arrived in Egypt en route for Gaza. Jordan and the United Arab Emirates airdropped supplies.
Israel cut off aid to Gaza from the start of March in what it said was a means to pressure Hamas into giving up dozens of hostages it still holds, and reopened aid with new restrictions in May. Hamas accuses Israel of using hunger as a weapon.
Israel says it abides by international law but must prevent aid from being diverted by fighters, and blames Hamas for the suffering of Gaza's people.
