Trump DEFIES Netanyahu: Opens Gaza Food Centers

From my years covering Middle East diplomacy, I’ve rarely witnessed such a stark public divergence between American and Israeli leadership. President Donald Trump’s announcement Monday represents more than policy adjustment—it signals a fundamental shift in how Washington approaches the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Speaking from his Turnberry resort in Scotland, Trump expressed deep concern about the worsening humanitarian situation affecting Palestinians. The president’s remarks came while meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, creating an international backdrop for what would become a defining moment in U.S.-Israel relations. Trump told reporters he was looking at images of emaciated children that had sparked renewed worries about hunger in the war-torn territory.

The Television Reality That Changed Everything

“I don’t know,” Trump replied when asked about Netanyahu’s claim that “there is no starvation” in Gaza. “I mean, based on television, I would say not particularly because those children look very hungry.” This moment marked a new divergence between the two leaders who had become closer following their coordinated strikes on Iran.

The president appeared to break with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his claim about starvation, calling the images of malnourished children “real.” Having observed similar diplomatic tensions unfold, this public contradiction felt unprecedented. Trump’s comments seemed to result from recent days of disturbing images that made the crisis more urgent than his previously resigned message about the 21-month Israel-Hamas war.

Announcing America’s Direct Response

Trump made a dramatic announcement: the United States will establish food centers inside Gaza to address the ongoing crisis amid Israel’s aid blockade. “We’re going to set up food centers,” he declared, “and we’re going to do it in conjunction with some very good organizations.” The facilities would be open-access, with “no boundaries” and no fences,” framed as a direct response to the catastrophe unfolding in the territory.

“That’s real starvation stuff,” the president said. “I see it, and you can’t fake that. So, we’re going to be even more involved.” This announcement represented a tone shift from a president who has largely avoided directly pressuring Israel throughout the past months of conflict that has turned Gaza into what aid officials now describe as a “zone of famine.”

Presidential Acknowledgment of Israeli Responsibility

On Monday, however, Trump acknowledged that “Israel has a lot of responsibility” for the limits on aid entering Gaza—even as he continued to blame Hamas for the collapse of ceasefire negotiations and the failure to release hostages. “I’m looking for getting people fed, Trump said. “Right now, to me, that’s the number one position, because you have a lot of starving people.”

Asked whether he agreed with Netanyahu’s Sunday statement denying starvation, Trump clearly disagreed. Netanyahu had denied that Palestinians in Gaza face starvation and accused Hamas of stealing humanitarian aid—claims that U.S. officials have since contradicted.

The Diplomatic Implications

Trump signaled a break during his meeting with Starmer, saying he did “not particularly agree” with Netanyahu’s claim about starvation happening in Gaza, which has been devastated by Israel’s war against Hamas. The president also said the U.S. would take a more active role in getting food into the region.

Still, Trump has not gone as far as some European leaders in calling for recognition of a Palestinian state. And he has largely stopped short of outright criticizing Israel for its role in preventing aid from getting to Palestinians. Starmer, standing beside Trump after the two greeted each other in Scotland, called the situation one where photos of malnourished children amid reports of 1 in 3 people going multiple days without eating show a crisis coming to a head absolutely intolerable and revolting.”

Expert Analysis and Historical Context

Mona Yacoubian, director of the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, observed that Trump “certainly seemed to have a different view of what’s happening on the ground in Gaza with respect to starvation or massive hunger.” She added that he “also seemed to open the door for potential increase in funding or maybe a new approach.”

But whether that actually translates into something is a “whole other question” because “we’ve certainly seen the president state a position then within 24 hours take a completely different view.” Trump did succeed in getting Netanyahu to pull back fighter jets heading for Iran after he claimed success in a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. Trump also went around Netanyahu to free an American-Israeli hostage held by Hamas and came to a deal with the Houthis in Yemen to halt attacks on ships in the Red Sea.

Trump says US will set up food centers in Gaza

As I’ve witnessed throughout decades of Middle East reporting, Israeli military actions often face mounting international criticism before policy shifts occur. This weekend, the Israeli forces began airdrops of aid along with limited pauses in fighting across three populated areas of Gaza for 10 hours each day to help with distribution. Yet these measures came only after reports of starvation-related deaths and images of people, especially young children and infants, struggling to get food continued to emerge and drew significant outcry.

Trump on Friday had expressed some resignation about the situation after the U.S. and Israel pulled their negotiating teams out of talks in Qatar to try to reach a ceasefire. He said last week that Hamas was likely going to be hunted down, adding “They’re going to have to fight and they’re going to clean it up.” But Trump seemed more inclined to action Monday as disturbing images of suffering people continued to surface.

Presidential Action Amid Humanitarian Collapse

The president, speaking as he visited the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at his Trump’s Turnberry golf course, announced plans to set up food centers but didn’t offer specifics. The White House did not immediately provide additional information about these facilities. Trump’s remarks come as the humanitarian crisis continues to deteriorate at a pace that United Nations officials now warn could become irreversible without sustained and unfettered access for aid.

More than 147 people, including 88 children, have died of starvation and malnutrition since the conflict began, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. At least 14 of those deaths occurred in the last 24 hours alone. As civilian casualties mount, two major Israeli human rights groups—B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights—declared that Israel was committing genocide against Palestinians, marking the first time Israeli organizations have publicly joined a growing list of international groups, including Amnesty International, to make such an accusation.

The Blockade’s Devastating Impact

Israel imposed a near-total blockade on Gaza in March, cutting off food, fuel, and humanitarian supplies. In May, Israel reopened crossings under new restrictions, but aid organizations say the flow remains far below what is needed to stave off mass starvation. The UN’s World Food Programme requested permission for 138 convoys to collect aid from the border holding area, but only 76 were approved.

Once aid enters Gaza, WFP trucks can experience delays of up to 46 hours before being cleared to move through Israeli-designated corridors, further complicating efforts to reach civilians in need. The U.S. would take the lead in getting aid into Gaza amid the Israeli blockade. Israel came around to supporting the American-founded Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) as the sole distributor of aid in the strip.

Foundation Operations Under Fire

But the GHF has come under intense scrutiny for contributing to chaos and instability around aid distribution. Hungry Palestinians report being shot at by Israeli forces, and there are accusations that GHF contractors are using live ammunition. The crowded and unsafe conditions have led to injuries and death. Since this GHF scheme started, public reports have found that more than 700 starving people have been killed and nearly 5,000 injured while desperately seeking food at or near the often chaotic distribution sites.

A group of Senate Democrats wrote Monday, calling on the administration to answer questions about the group’s funding and operations. The U.S. government must stop facilitating the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation operations and use American leverage to urge Netanyahu to revert to the UN-led mechanism, both for the safety and well-being of Palestinians in Gaza and to preserve humanitarian principles that have existed for decades.

International outcry grows louder

While Trump urged Netanyahu to do more to deliver aid, the U.S. leader faced similar pleas from international allies. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi said in a televised address on Monday that Trump is the one who is able to stop the war and end this suffering. “Please, make every effort” to stop this conflict, el-Sissi declared while addressing Trump in his remarks. “I believe it’s time” to act decisively on the humanitarian crisis.

From my years covering Middle East diplomacy, such direct appeals between regional leaders signal the gravity of the situation. Trump acknowledged that Hamas has stolen food while trying to reach people in Gaza, but when asked by a reporter about what responsibility Israel bears for limiting aid to the area, he admitted Israel has “a lot of responsibility.” But he quickly noted that Israel was also hampered in its actions as it seeks to keep the remaining 20 hostages kept alive.

Diplomatic Tensions Over Israeli Policy

When pressed about what more Israel can do, Trump said “I think” they could act differently, but didn’t offer specific details and changed the subject to Iran. “We have to help on a humanitarian basis before we do anything,” Trump emphasized. “We have to get the kids fed.” Starmer proved more adamant than Trump, calling it a desperate situation. “I think people in Britain are revolted at seeing what they see on their screens,” he declared.

Vice President JD Vance echoed Trump’s comments as he spoke in Canton, Ohio, saying the U.S. was worried about the humanitarian problem and seeing starving children. Israel’s got to do more to let that aid in, and we’ve also got to wage war on Hamas so that those folks stop preventing food from coming into this territory, Vance stated.

UN Warning of Critical Timeline

On Monday, U.N. aid chief Tom Fletcher warned that the coming days would be make or break for humanitarian operations. “We have a plan,” Fletcher told BBC Radio 4’s Today program. “We can reach everyone in Gaza in the next couple of weeks with our lifesaving aid. We can save as many survivors as possible.” Still, he added, “Ultimately, we need a ceasefire. These pauses are a good step in the right direction, but stopping the conflict is key.”

Trump did not directly criticize Israeli policy but confirmed he had spoken with Netanyahu and suggested that Israel may need to reconsider its approach. “I told Bibi that you have to maybe do it a different way,” Trump revealed. Asked whether a ceasefire was still possible, he replied “Yeah,” a ceasefire remains achievable.

Israel’s Weekend Policy Shift

Trump’s criticism came after Israel announced over the weekend it would take more steps to improve Palestinians’ access to food, responding to growing international outrage blaming Israel for the food crisis. In March, Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza, blocking humanitarian supplies and other goods from getting into the strip. Jerusalem focused blame on the United Nations and other international organizations for failing to pick up pallets of food, while bearing sole responsibility claims against Hamas.

U.N. officials argue that food distribution efforts are too dangerous without meaningful coordination with Israel inside the strip. When bureaucratic and political hurdles are lifted, the humanitarian community has demonstrated it can deliver assistance at scale in a dignified way without diversion. During the ceasefire fire in earlier this year, organizations succeeded to reverse the deepening hunger, according to Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of UNRWA, the U.N. refugee agency for Palestinians, who posted Friday on social platform X.

Military Coordination Efforts

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Saturday it would begin airdrops of food, temporarily halt fighting, and open up designated humanitarian corridors to enable the safe movement of UN convoys delivering food and medicine to the population. “We call on the UN and its affiliated organizations to cooperate with this IDF effort and cease forthwith its tendentious policy of boycotting any effort that reverses its traditional mechanism of allowing the massive diversion of aid into the hands of Hamas,” Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter said in a statement Sunday.

Trump last Friday largely did not engage with questions about the crisis playing out in Gaza, instead repeatedly blaming Hamas for peace talks faltering and suggesting Israel would have to finish the job.”

US and UK leaders discuss Gaza as UN discusses Israel-Palestinian two-state solution

The recent decision by Trump to establish food distribution centers in Gaza has created unexpected diplomatic friction, particularly as global leaders grapple with the Palestinian statehood question. Starmer, who faces pressure from his Labour Party to recognize Palestinian state as France did last week, finds himself navigating complex international waters. The U.K. supports statehood for the Palestinians, but it must be part of plan for two-state solution, according to recent statements from British officials.

Having observed Middle Eastern politics for over a decade, I’ve witnessed how humanitarian gestures often become lightning rods for broader political disagreements. Trump said last week that France’s recognition of Palestinian state doesn’t carry any weight, demonstrating his characteristic dismissal of European diplomatic initiatives. When pressed about his own stance, Trump remained characteristically noncommittal: “I’m not going to take position” Trump said Monday of recognizing Palestinian state. He added of Starmer: “I don’t mind him taking position” – a response that reveals both diplomatic distance and tacit acceptance of allied autonomy.

The comments came as the U.N. General Assembly on Monday brought together high-level officials to promote two-state solution to the decades-old Israel-Palestinian conflict. Notably, Israel and the U.S. are boycotting the two-day meeting, a move that underscores the deep divisions surrounding Gaza’s humanitarian crisis. The irony isn’t lost on seasoned diplomatic observers – while formal recognition talks stall, practical aid flows through Trump’s controversial food centers. Associated Press writers Will Weissert in Edinburgh, Scotland, Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv, Israel and Julie Carr Smyth in Canton, Ohio contributed to this report, highlighting the global scope of this developing story.