Trump avoids criticizing Israel for starving the people of Gaza
US President Donald Trump avoided discussing the US assistance during a joint press conference with European Union President Ursula von der Leyen in Scotland on Sunday, preferring to discuss the US assistance provided “without anyone thanking us.”
When Trump was asked about the images of starving children coming from Gaza, he told reporters: “It’s terrible.”
But he then changed course to say, “They are stealing food, money, and weapons,” without specifying who he was talking about, likely alluding to Hamas, an accusation that experts say is false.
Trump also expressed regret that the United States donated $60 million to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) and received no thanks, while no other country contributed anything.
Commenting on the state of war after the US and Israel withdrew from Doha amid anger over Hamas’s recent response, Trump said, “Israel has a decision to make.”
On Friday, the US president claimed that the United States had provided $60 billion. The actual figure is $30 million. The United States is not the only country providing humanitarian aid, nor is it even the largest donor.
“I know what I would have done, but I don’t think it’s appropriate to say it,” he said.
He reiterated that he expected the talks to collapse, saying that Hamas would not want to release the last hostages because it would lose its last bargaining chip.
