US President Donald Trump said Friday "a lot of people are starving" in the besieged Gaza Strip, where rescuers reported more than 60 deaths in Israeli air strikes since midnight.
Trump's brief comments on Gaza came as he capped the first foreign tour of his second term that saw him visit several Gulf countries, but excluded key ally Israel.
A two-month ceasefire between Israel and Hamas collapsed in March, shortly after Israel reimposed a total blockade on Gaza that aid agencies say has sparked critical food shortages.
"We're looking at Gaza. And we're going to get that taken care of. A lot of people are starving," Trump told reporters in Abu Dhabi.
Israel cut off aid to Gaza on March 2, a tactic it has said is intended to force concessions from the Hamas group, which is still holding dozens of Israeli hostages it seized in October 2023.
Hamas insisted on Thursday that the restoration of humanitarian assistance to the war-ravaged territory was "the minimum requirement" for talks.
It also warned that Gaza was not "for sale" hours after Trump again floated taking over the territory and turning it into "a freedom zone".
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said after he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday that Washington is troubled by the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Rubio, speaking to reporters in Antalya, Türkiye, said the US was "not immune or in any way insensitive to the suffering of people in Gaza."
He repeated the Trump administration's stance that Hamas fighter are to blame for the situation in Gaza.
"We think that the elimination of Hamas is what achieves peace. We're troubled by the humanitarian situation," Rubio said.
It was the first time Rubio has addressed the situation in Gaza since the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation announced it will start work in Gaza by the end of May under a heavily-criticized distribution plan.
He said he had heard criticism of the plan and that the US was open to an alternative plan.
"It allows people to get aid without Hamas stealing it," Rubio said. "We'll continue to work towards that in ways that we think are constructive and productive."
