Trump acknowledges ‘real starvation’ in Gaza and tells Israel to let in ‘every ounce of food’

Donald Trump told Israel to allow “every ounce of food” into Gaza as he acknowledged for the first time that there is “real starvation” in the region.

During a visit to Britain, the US president contradicted Benjamin Netanyahu after the Israeli prime minister claimed it was a “bold-faced lie” to say Israel was causing hunger in Gaza.

Trump is under increasing pressure to intervene in the humanitarian crisis, with dozens of Palestinians having died of hunger in recent weeks in a crisis attributed by the UN and other humanitarian organisations to Israel’s blockade of almost all aid into the territory.

In meetings with Keir Starmer – including a rambling 70-minute press conference at Trump’s Turnberry golf resort in Scotland – the president also said he was losing patience with Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine and vowed to impose sanctions on Russia’s trading partners within 10-12 days if there was no ceasefire.

He heaped praise on Starmer, but in a domestic intervention that will not have been appreciated by the British prime minister, Trump urged him to cut taxes and tackle illegal immigration to win the next election.

Starmer privately pressed Trump on Gaza during the trip, government sources said.

The US president told reporters that Israel bore “a lot of responsibility” for the crisis in a rebuke to Netanyahu, who had claimed earlier on Monday that there was “no starvation in Gaza”.

Asked whether he agreed with this assessment, Trump said: “I don’t know. Based on television, I would say not particularly, because those children look very hungry.”

He later added: “We can save a lot of people, I mean some of those kids. That’s real starvation; I see it and you can’t fake that. So we’re going to be even more involved.”

Asked what he would ask Netanyahu for next time they spoke, Trump said: “We’re giving money and we’re giving food, but we’re over here … I want him to make sure they get the food. I want to make sure they get the food, every ounce of food.”

Trump criticised Hamas for not releasing the remaining hostages and said the militant group was “very difficult to deal with”, while suggesting he had asked the Israeli government to change its approach. “I told Israel, I told Bibi, that you have to now maybe do it a different way,” he said.

The president was speaking before a bilateral meeting with Starmer, who flew to Ayrshire to meet him on Monday. The two leaders were due to visit Trump’s second golf course in Aberdeenshire and have dinner together on Monday evening.

Trump said he was “very disappointed” with Putin and was “not so interested in talking to him any more” because of his decision to continue airstrikes against civilian targets in Ukraine.

“We thought we had that settled numerous times, and then President Putin goes out and starts launching rockets into some city like Kyiv and kills a lot of people in a nursing home or whatever,” Trump said. “You have bodies lying all over the street, and I say that’s not the way to do it.”

Trump said he would cut his 50-day deadline for a ceasefire to between 10 and 12 days before he imposed secondary sanctions on Russia’s trading partners.

He piled pressure on Starmer to cut taxes and immigration, calling the prime minister and Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, “good men”.

“I assume there’s a thing going on between you and Nigel and that’s OK,” Trump said. “But generally speaking, the one who cuts taxes the most, the one who gives you the lowest energy prices and the best kind of energy, the one that keeps you out of wars … I think the one that’s toughest and most competent on immigration is going to win the election.”

Speaking alongside Trump, Starmer told the press conference that the British public were “revolted” at the “absolute catastrophe” in Gaza and said there was an urgent need for a ceasefire.

Israel announced over the weekend that it would suspend fighting in three areas of Gaza for 10 hours a day and open secure routes for aid delivery, while the UK confirmed it was working with Jordan to carry out airdrops into the territory.

Starmer is due to convene an emergency cabinet meeting on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza this week. Ministers will be presented with a peace plan which the UK is working up alongside France and Germany.

The prime minister is under pressure from senior cabinet ministers and more than 220 MPs to immediately recognise Palestine as a state, after Emmanuel Macron announced that France would do so at the UN general assembly in September. Trump dismissed the idea on Monday but suggested he had no objection to the UK or other allies doing so.

Trump also said the US and its allies would set up “walk-in” food centres without barriers in the region, though he gave little detail about how these would operate.

On Monday afternoon, about 100 protesters gathered in Balmedie, the closest village to Trump’s Aberdeenshire golf course, waving Palestinian flags and chanting: “You are not welcome here.”

Kay Collin, a retired modern studies teacher, said she had made the trip from Edinburgh because “watching what is happening in Gaza, if it was happening to my grandchildren I would hope other people would stand up for them”.

While many people cited the starvation crisis in Gaza as the most urgent reason for their protest, Trump’s policies on immigration, transgender rights and cuts to international aid, and there were placards and chants accusing him of misogyny and bullying behaviour.

Jenna Harpin, a mother of four from Portsoy, said she was “disgusted” at how much money was being spent by the Scottish and UK governments on hosting Trump’s visit, especially at a time when local councils were making cuts to vital services.

The protesters marched through the village as the police presence swelled in anticipation of Trump’s arrival. Local access had been significantly restricted with lines of police officers blocking off the beach and snipers spotted on the dunes.