Amid reports of humanitarian crisis in war-torn Gaza strip, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly faced a sharp rebuke from US President Donald Trump during a recent phone call, according
to NBC News.
According to NBC, the confrontation occurred after Netanyahu attempted to dismiss reports of widespread starvation in Gaza as Hamas propaganda.
The besieged strip is currently cut off from most food supplies due to Israel’s military campaign, leaving civilians facing severe shortages, starvation, and malnutrition. Recently, reports of many deaths due to malnutrition has also emerged.
The Israeli PM has publicly denied any deliberate policy to starve Gaza, stating on July 27 in Jerusalem, “There is no policy of starvation in Gaza. And there is no starvation in Gaza,”
However, Trump contradicted this stance a day later, acknowledging the existence of “real starvation” and noting that he had seen photos of hungry children, describing Gaza as “a mess.”
The stark disagreement prompted Netanyahu to request a private conversation with Trump.
During the call, the Israeli leader again tried to downplay the starvation claims, which infuriated Trump, the report claimed. NBC, citing sources, mentioned that Trump interrupted Netanyahu, yelling that he did not want to hear starvation report was fake.
The President reportedly told Netanyahu that he has been provided with the evidence supporting starvation claims in Gaza. Trump dominated the conversation, described by a former US official as “a direct, mostly one-way conversation,” the report further claimed.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza continues to worsen as Israel’s military aims to dismantle Hamas’s remaining infrastructure. Although famine has not officially been declared, two out of three famine indicators—sharp declines in food consumption and acute malnutrition—have already been met, according to the UN’s Integrated Food Security Phase Classification.
Humanitarian groups like Doctors Without Borders have criticized Israel’s militarized food distribution in Gaza as “institutionalized starvation and dehumanization,” highlighting the urgent need for international attention to the crisis.
