Trump Proposes Gaza ‘Food Centers,’ Says Starvation is Real

President Donald Trump said the US would work on a new effort to provide food aid to alleviate starvation in Gaza along with other governments and organizations, including the UK and European Union.

Trump laid out his proposal during a Monday meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at his golf club in Turnberry, Scotland, amid growing international pressure on western governments to push Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to step up efforts to address the crisis.

The US president provided few specifics and Starmer said little about the idea, but both reiterated the need to alleviate suffering in the war-torn territory.

“We’re going to set up food centers and we’re going to do it in conjunction with some very good people,” Trump said, adding the US would supply funds for the effort. “We’re also going to make sure that they don’t have barriers stopping people.”

Asked if he agreed with Netanyahu’s assessment there is “no starvation” in the territory, Trump said ahead of the Starmer meeting that “based on television, I would say not particularly because those children look very hungry.”

“That’s real starvation stuff, I see it, and you can’t fake that,” Trump said. “We have to get the kids fed.” Bloomberg's Ethan Bronner reports from Tel Aviv.

“Israel has a lot of responsibility” to address the crisis, Trump added. “I want them to make sure they get the food.”

Still, Trump said, Netanyahu’s government is “hampered” by hostages held by Hamas and what he alleged was the militant group’s theft of aid.

“People in Britain are revolted by what they’re seeing,” Starmer said. “We’ve got to get to that ceasefire. And thank you, Mr. President, for leading on that, and also to just get more and more aid in.”

Humanitarian supplies need to reach Gaza at “speed and volume” the UK leader said, adding “we need to galvanize other countries in support of getting that aid in and, yes, that does involve putting pressure on Israel.”

Images of malnourished Gazans have caused provoked fresh outrage against the Israeli government as its war against Hamas grinds on. Israel’s military paused some operations against Hamas on Sunday to allow UN relief convoys to move in.

Israel started restricting fresh aid shipments into the territory in March when it resumed its military campaign. It established a new system of supply distribution with the US through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation — but that arrangement has been plagued by problems. More than 1,000 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli forces between May and last week while trying to obtain food in Gaza, mostly near aid sites controlled by the GHF, according to the UN.

The meeting with Starmer took place during Trump’s five-day visit to Scotland, a prime example of how Trump is mixing personal business with his official duties unlike any of his modern predecessors. The UK leader was swept up in the effort: Trump later Monday was due to host Starmer again at his other golf property in Aberdeen as part of their day-long itinerary.

Their sit-down also came a day after Trump struck a deal with the EU to avert a damaging economic war with the US’s largest trading bloc. The EU will face a 15% tariff on most exports to the US, including automobiles, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors. That’s higher than the 10% levy on most British goods that Starmer agreed to in May in a deal with Trump.

“Our relationship is unparalleled,” Trump told reporters. “When you’re able to have a good trade deal, it keeps it even closer.”

Trump said the UK deal is “in great shape” but declined to say exactly when he and Starmer would iron out lingering divisions on metals imports. People would know “pretty soon” when tariffs would go lower, Trump added.

Washington and London remain at loggerheads over tariffs on British steel and aluminum, which remain at 25%.

Under the agreement, Trump pledged to remove duties on a certain quota on metals imports but that system has yet to be worked out amid disagreement over so-called melt-and-pour rules covering where steel is made. The UK is also hoping for a carve-out on Trump’s threatened pharmaceutical levies.

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