United States President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Israel will have to decide on its next steps in Gaza, adding that he did not know what would happen after the collapse of ceasefire and hostage exchange talks with Hamas, Reuters reported.
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Trump stressed the importance of freeing hostages held in Gaza by Palestinian militants Hamas, saying they had suddenly "hardened" on the issue.
He added that Washington would provide additional aid to the Palestinian enclave devastated by the military offensive by Israel, a US ally.
"They don't want to let them go, and so Israel will have to make a decision. I know what I would do, but I don't think it's appropriate for me to say that. But Israel will have to decide," Trump told reporters at the start of a meeting with European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen in Scotland, also claiming - without evidence - that Hamas is stealing food that is coming into Gaza and reselling it.
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Reuters reported on Friday that an internal US government analysis found no evidence of systematic theft of humanitarian aid by Hamas, calling into question the basis on which Israel and the US supported a private, armed aid delivery operation.
More than 20 Democratic US senators sent a letter to the Trump administration today, calling for the suspension of funding to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) and a return to support for United Nations (UN) aid distribution mechanisms.
The UN estimates that Israeli forces have killed more than 1.000 people trying to reach aid, mostly near militarized checkpoints of GHF, a new private humanitarian organization using a US for-profit logistics firm, run by a former US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer and armed US military veterans, according to Reuters.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, dozens of Palestinians have died from malnutrition in recent weeks. Six more deaths were reported in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of deaths from malnutrition and hunger in Gaza since the start of the war to 133, including 87 children.
Former US President Barack Obama said today that aid must be made available to civilians in Gaza.
"There is no justification for denying food and water to civilian families," Obama wrote on the X network, adding that action should be taken "to prevent the avoidable tragedy of innocent people dying of starvation."
Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday effectively abandoned ceasefire talks with Hamas, claiming Hamas did not want an agreement.
Netanyahu said Israel was now considering "alternative" options to achieve its goals: the return of the hostages and the end of Hamas rule in Gaza, where famine is spreading and most of the population is homeless due to the devastation caused by Israeli attacks.
Trump said he believed Hamas leaders would now be "hunted down," telling reporters: "Hamas really didn't want a deal. I think they want to die... And it got to the point where you have to finish the job."
US will provide more aid, says Trump
Trump also said today that Washington will provide more humanitarian aid to Gaza, but that he wants other countries to participate. He announced a discussion about this with Von der Leyen.
"We give a lot of money, a lot of food, a lot of everything. If it weren't for us, people would literally starve to death. They would die, and it's not like they're eating God knows how now," he said.
He said he had spoken with Netanyahu, and that they also discussed Iran. He added that he would also discuss Israel with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday.
Trump said the US had not received recognition for its previous aid to Gaza.
"No other country gave anything," he said, singling out Europe in particular. "You don't feel very good when you do it and other countries don't give anything... Nobody gave except us. And nobody said: Thank you very much. It would be nice to even get a thank you."
The latest bloodshed in the long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict began in October 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1.200 people and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
The Gaza Health Ministry claims that the Israeli military offensive has killed nearly 60.000 Palestinians since then. It has also caused famine, internally displaced Gaza's entire population, and led to charges of genocide before the International Court of Justice and war crimes before the International Criminal Court. Israel denies the charges.
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