The United States wants Israel to ensure that Palestinians in Gaza get the food they need, US President Donald Trump said on Sunday.
“We want Israel to feed them. We’re making quite a lot of contributions, basically to buy food so that people can feed themselves,” Trump told reporters before returning to Washington from his golf resort in New Jersey.
“We don’t want people to be hungry and we don’t want people to starve,” he added.
Asked about a visit to Gaza on Friday by US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to inspect the operations of the controversial US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), Trump said he was doing a “great job.”
But when asked whether Witkoff had seen evidence of “genocide” in Gaza by Israel, Trump did not describe it that way.
“I don’t think so — (it’s) sad. Look, they’re at war,” he said.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that the US has provided $60 million in food aid to Gaza. However, recent reports indicate that only $3 million has been disbursed so far.
Witkoff visited a relief center in southern Gaza run by the GHF on Friday. He said the goal was to give Trump “a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and help develop a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza.”
The Israeli military, rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, has been carrying out a brutal offensive on Gaza since October 7, 2023, killing more than 60,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children.
The relentless bombardment has devastated the enclave and led to severe food shortages and deaths from starvation.
