US President Donald Trump said on Monday that the most urgent priority in Gaza was providing food to the starving population, adding that he would not take a position on Palestinian statehood for now. This was reported by Reuters, BTA reports.
The statement was made during a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Trump's golf resort in Turnberry, Scotland. The US president said the US had already provided $60 million in humanitarian aid and insisted that other countries should also get involved.
“I spoke with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and she assured me that European countries will significantly increase their support“, Trump said. He added that he planned to discuss additional measures with Starmer.
“We give a lot of money and a lot of food, and now other countries are getting involved. It's a complete mess. The people in Gaza need food and security immediately,” Trump stressed.
Starmer agreed with the American leader and described the situation as a "humanitarian catastrophe", adding: "I think the people in Britain are disgusted by what they see on their screens."
Trump declined to comment on French President Emmanuel Macron's attempts to support Palestinian statehood.
Regarding the conflict between Israel and Hamas, Trump said he had urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to consider a change in his approach, adding:
"I told Bibi that maybe he should do it differently."
When asked if a ceasefire was possible, Trump replied in the affirmative: "Yes, it is possible, but you have to get it, you have to get it stop“, without elaborating.
He also stressed the importance of releasing the hostages held by Hamas. According to Trump, the group has changed its position and is refusing to release any more people. Meanwhile, Hamas has said it is ready to release hostages if a ceasefire agreement is reached. After presenting its response to a US-backed proposal on Thursday at the talks in Doha, Israel withdrew its delegation.
Over the weekend, Israel announced measures to improve humanitarian access, including daily breaks in three areas of Gaza and new safe corridors. However, UN agencies have said the measures taken are not enough to alleviate the severe hunger.
According to the Gaza health ministry, at least 14 people have died of starvation in the past 24 hours alone, bringing the total number of deaths from malnutrition to 147, including 89 children.
Israel, which cut off all supplies to Gaza in March, reopened the corridors in May with new restrictions. The Tel Aviv government rejects accusations of implementing a hunger policy. On Sunday, Prime Minister Netanyahu said:
“Israel is being presented as if we are implementing a hunger campaign in Gaza. This is a blatant lie. There is no hunger policy and there is no hunger in Gaza.“