Trump made the comments Monday during a joint appearance with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Turnberry, Scotland. He acknowledged the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, describing harrowing scenes of children suffering from starvation and pledging increased US involvement in delivering food aid.
“It’s going to be working where the United States will be helping with the food. You know, we have a lot of access to food; we got a lot of food ourselves, and we’re going to bring it over there. We’re also going to make sure that they don’t have barriers stopping people,” Trump said.
The president also slammed what he called physical blockades near distribution areas and added: “You know, you’ve seen the areas where they actually have food, and the people are screaming for the food in there. They’re 35, 40 yards away, and they won’t let them because they have lines that are set up, and whether they’re set up by Hamas or whoever, but they’re very strict lines, and we have to get rid of those lines."
“We’re gonna be even more involved. We did some airlifts before, some airdrops, and the people are running for it. And the Prime Minister is going to help us. They’re very effective with that. You’ve done that before and for many. They’ve done that for 100 years very well, so it’s not very hard to do, actually.”
His comments come amid growing global concern over the crisis. On Tuesday, a UN-backed food security body issued an alert stating that “famine thresholds” have now been reached in Gaza, calling it the “worst-case scenario.” The conflict between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas has left more than 60,000 Palestinians dead, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which reported 113 deaths in the past 24 hours.
Israel temporarily paused military operations on Sunday to allow for some food distribution and aid coordination with the United Nations. Aid distribution points have frequently turned deadly, with both Israeli forces and Hamas blaming each other for civilian deaths during deliveries.
Back home, pressure is also increasing on the administration to take further action. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and 39 other Senate Democrats sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff on Tuesday, urging immediate expansion of humanitarian aid.
The letter stated, “The acute humanitarian crisis in Gaza is also unsustainable and worsens by the day,” and emphasized the urgency of securing the return of hostages. “To prevent the situation from getting even worse, we urge you to advocate for a large-scale expansion of humanitarian assistance and services throughout the Gaza Strip, including through the use of experienced multilateral bodies and NGOs that can get life-saving aid directly to those in need and prevent diversion.”
The senators also pushed back against any plans to displace Gaza’s residents, writing that they “oppose any efforts to remove Palestinians from their homes.”
Meanwhile, the Israeli government rejected accusations from local human rights groups who charged that the military campaign in Gaza constitutes “genocide.” An Israeli government spokesperson responded, “We have free speech in this country but we strongly reject this claim.”
