Donald Trump today disputed Israel’s claim there is ‘no starvation’ in Gaza as he held talks on the Middle East conflict with Sir Keir Starmer in Scotland.
The US President met with the Prime Minister at his Turnberry golf resort in Ayrshire, with their discussions set to be dominated by the humanitarian crisis.
As he greeted Sir Keir at Trump Turnberry, the US President said Gaza was ‘a mess’, adding: ‘They have to get food and safety right now.’
The PM, who was due to present to Mr Trump a UK-led plan to bring peace to the Middle East, added it was an ‘absolute catastrophe’.
Sir Keir held crisis talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the weekend.
Britain is working with Jordan to airdrop aid into Gaza and evacuate children needing medical assistance, with military planners deployed for further support.
But the head of the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency has warned such efforts are ‘a distraction’ that will fail to properly address deepening starvation.
Images and warnings of starvation emerging from Gaza in recent days have piled pressure on the Israeli government over its conduct in the conflict.
Yet, speaking yesterday, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said it was a ‘bald-faced lie’ to claim he is applying a campaign of starvation in Gaza.
‘There is no policy of starvation in Gaza, and there is no starvation in Gaza,’ he said.
Donald Trump disputed Israel ‘s claim there is ‘no starvation’ in Gaza as he held talks on the Middle East conflict with Sir Keir Starmer in Scotland
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said it was a ‘bald-faced lie’ to claim he is applying a campaign of starvation in Gaza
Six-year-old Malik Nidal Saad suffers from severe malnutrition in a tent in western Gaza, where he took shelter with his family after fleeing Beit Lahia
Asked by reporters this afternoon if he agreed with Mr Netanyahu’s assessment, Mr Trump said: ‘I don’t know.
‘I mean, based on television, I would say, not particularly because those children look very hungry.
‘But we’re giving a lot of money and a lot of food. And other nations are now stepping up. I know that this nation [the UK] is right here.’
Speaking alongside Mr Trump, Sir Keir said the ‘humanitarian crisis’ was ‘an absolute catastrophe’.
‘Nobody wants to see that. I think people in Britain are revolted at seeing what they’re seeing on their screens, so we’ve got to get to that ceasefire,’ he added.
‘And thank you, Mr President, for leading on that, and also to just get more and more aid in and again America has done a lot on this. A lot of countries have done a lot.’
The PM continued: ‘This is a desperate situation.’
Asked if Israel had done all it could to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza, Mr Trump replied: ‘I think nobody’s done anything great over there – the whole place is a mess.
‘It’ll get straightened out, but it’s a mess. They have to get food and safety right now.’
Mr Trump later thanked Sir Keir for his support on international affairs as they sat down for their meeting.
‘Any time we needed help, any time we needed any form of support, you’ve been there,’ he said. ‘We appreciate it very much, and we’re going to continue onward.
The US President added that Hamas had become ‘very difficult to deal with’ following the US and Israel’s withdrawal from ceasefire talks last week.
‘Hamas has become very difficult to deal with in the last couple of days, because they don’t want to give up these last 20 (hostages).
‘Because they think as long as … they have them, they have protection, but I don’t think it can work that way.
‘So I’m speaking to Netanyahu, and we are coming up with various plans.
‘I’m going to say it’s a very difficult situation. If they didn’t have the hostages, things would go very quickly
‘But they do, and we know where they have them, in some cases, and you don’t want to go riding roughshod over that area, because that means those hostages will be killed.’
The US President suggested anyone holding Israelis hostage should be ‘helping’ them, as he appeared to compare the situation to Jewish people escaping the Nazis by hiding in attics.
He said: ‘You see it in the movies where somebody is a prisoner, or somebody is helping.
‘You even see it with Germany, where people would be let into a house and live in an attic in secret.
‘You know, you see signs of stuff. I said, did you see anything like, did they wink at you or did they say ‘don’t worry, you’re going to be OK’?
‘I never received, I asked that question all the time, I’ve never received one answer that said, ‘yes, they really wanted to help’.
‘The hatred is just incredible.’
Mr Trump later thanked Sir Keir for his support on international affairs as they sat down for their meeting
The US President added that Hamas had become ‘very difficult to deal with’ following the US and Israel’s withdrawal from ceasefire talks last week
Mr Trump also said the US would set up food centres in Gaza without fences.
He added: ‘We’re going to set up food centres, and we’re going to do it in conjunction with some very good people.
‘We’re going to supply funds, and we just took in trillions of dollars, we have a lot of money and we’re going to spend a little money on some food.
‘And other nations are joining us. I know your nation’s joining us, and we have all of the European nations joining us, and others also called and they want to be helpful.
‘So we’re going to set up food centres where the people can walk in and no boundaries, we’re not going to have fences.
‘You know, they can’t, they see the food from 30 yards away and they see the food, it’s all there, but nobody’s at it because they have fences set up that nobody can even get it. It’s crazy what’s going on over there.’
Sir Keir will unusually convene his Cabinet this week, during Parliament’s summer recess, to discuss the situation in Gaza.
His official spokesperson said: ‘This week, the PM is focused on a pathway to peace to ensure immediate relief for those on the ground, and a sustainable route to a two-state solution.’
Sir Keir is under increasing pressure from MPs and even his own ministers to recognise Palestinian statehood after Mr Macron said France will do so in September.
Some 221 MPs from Labour, the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, SNP, Greens, Plaid Cymru, SDLP and independents have signed a letter pressuring the Government to follow suit at a UN meeting next week.
The majority of those who have signed, 131, are Labour MPs.
The PM’s official spokesman said the Government was ‘clear that the recognition of the Palestinian state is a matter of when, not if’.
But he added: ‘It must be one of the steps on the path to a two state solution as part of a wider plan that delivers lasting security for both Palestinians and Israelis.’
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, a staunch supporter of Israel, this morning said the PM would be wrong to ‘reward Hamas’ by recognising a Palestinian state.
But he criticised Mr Netanyahu’s actions in Gaza, saying the Israeli PM was ‘losing friends’.
