Trump says Israel will have to decide on next steps in Gaza, pledges more aid
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Dozens of Gazans have died of malnutrition in recent weeks.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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TURNBERRY, Scotland - US President Donald Trump said on July 27 Israel would have to make a decision on the next steps in Gaza, adding that he did not know what would happen after the collapse of ceasefire and hostage release negotiations with Hamas.
Mr Trump underscored the importance of securing the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, saying the militant group had suddenly “hardened” up on the issue.
The President said the US would provide more aid to the war-torn Palestinian enclave.
“They don't want to give them back, and so Israel is going to have to make a decision,” Mr Trump told reporters at the start of a meeting with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen at his golf property in Turnberry, Scotland.
“I know what I'd do, but I don't think it's appropriate that I say it. But Israel is going to have to make a decision,” he said, while also claiming, without evidence, that Hamas members were stealing food coming into Gaza and selling it.
Reuters reported on July 25 that an internal US government analysis had found no evidence of systematic theft by Hamas of US-funded humanitarian supplies, challenging the rationale that Israel and the US gave for backing the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an armed private aid operation.
More than 20 Democratic US senators wrote a letter to the Trump administration on July 27 urging it to cease funding for the GHF and restore support for existing United Nations aid distribution mechanisms.
The UN estimates Israeli forces have killed more than 1,000 people seeking food supplies, the majority near the militarised distribution sites of the GHF, which uses a for-profit US logistics firm run by a former US Central Intelligence Agency officer and armed US military veterans.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, dozens of Gazans have died of malnutrition
The ministry reported six new deaths over the past 24 hours due to malnutrition, bringing the total deaths from malnutrition and hunger to 133, including 87 children.
Democratic former US president Barack Obama said on July 27 that aid must be permitted to reach people in Gaza.
“There is no justification for keeping food and water away from civilian families,” Mr Obama wrote on X, adding that action should be taken “to prevent the travesty of innocent people dying of preventable starvation”.
Mr Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu both appeared July 25 to abandon Gaza ceasefire negotiations with Hamas, saying it had become clear that the Palestinian group did not want a deal.
Mr Netanyahu said Israel was now mulling over “alternative” options to achieve its goals of bringing its hostages home from Gaza and ending Hamas rule in the enclave, where most of the population is homeless amid widespread ruin from Israel’s assault.
Mr Trump said he believed Hamas leaders would now be “hunted down”, telling reporters: “Hamas really didn't want to make a deal. I think they want to die. And it's very bad. And it got to be to a point where you're going to have to finish the job.”
US to provide more aid, Trump says
Mr Trump on July 27 said the US would provide more humanitarian aid to Gaza, where concerns are mounting about the worsening hunger, but wanted other countries to participate as well.
He said he would discuss the issue with Dr von der Leyen.
“We're giving a lot of money, a lot of food, a lot of everything,” he said. “If we weren't there, I think people would have starved, frankly. They would have starved, and it's not like they're eating well.”
He said he had spoken with Mr Netanyahu and discussed a number of issues, including Iran. The US President said he and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer would also discuss Israel when they meet at Mr Trump's golf property in Turnberry on July 28.
Mr Trump also noted that the United States had not been acknowledged for earlier food aid for Gaza.
“No other country gave anything,” he said, calling out European countries in particular. “It makes you feel a little bad when you do that and, you know, you have other countries not giving anything… Nobody gave but us. And nobody said, Gee, thank you very much. And it would be nice to have at least a thank you.”
The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered in October 2023 when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, Israeli tallies show.
Gaza’s Health Ministry says Israel’s subsequent military assault has killed nearly 60,000 Palestinians.
It also caused the hunger crisis, internally displaced Gaza’s entire population and prompted accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice and of war crimes at the International Criminal Court. Israel denies the accusations. REUTERS
