United States (US) President Donald Trump has backed aid for the Palestinians, saying people in Gaza are starving.
Trump said he expected “a lot of good things” for the Palestinians in the coming month.
The ICIR reports that Israeli strikes on Gaza have killed over 250 people since Thursday morning, according to local health authorities. This marks one of the deadliest rounds of bombardment since a truce broke down in March, with a new ground offensive anticipated soon.
Trump’s brief remarks on Gaza came on Friday, May 16, as he concluded his first foreign tour since he returned to office for a second term in January.
“I think a lot of good things are going to happen over the next month, and we’re going to see. We have to help out the Palestinians. You know, a lot of people are starving in Gaza, so we have to look at both sides,” Trump told reporters when asked if he supported Israeli plans to expand the war in Gaza.
Recall that Trump issued what he described as a “final warning” to Hamas in March, demanding the immediate release of all hostages in Gaza.
Trump vowed that he would provide Israel with “everything it needs to finish the job,” warning that “Not a single Hamas member will be safe if you don’t do as I say.”
The ICIR reported that a two-month ceasefire between Israel and Hamas ended in March, shortly after Israel reinstated a full blockade on Gaza, which aid agencies said had caused severe food shortages.
On March 2, Israel halted aid to Gaza, a move it described as a strategy to pressure Hamas, which continues to hold dozens of Israeli hostages captured in October 2023.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel was preparing for an expanded and intensified offensive against Hamas, following his security cabinet’s approval of plans that could include taking full control of the Gaza Strip and overseeing the distribution of aid.
Hamas insisted on Thursday that the resumption of humanitarian aid to the war-torn territory was “the minimum requirement” for any negotiations to proceed.
Israel has stated that its objective in Gaza was to eliminate Hamas, the group responsible for attacking Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages.
Gaza’s health ministry reported that 2,876 people have been killed since Israel resumed airstrikes on March 18, bringing the total death toll from the war to 53,010.
The military stated that its operations were ongoing, and that in the past 24 hours, it had “targeted over 150 terror sites across the Gaza Strip, including anti-tank missile launchers, militant groups, military facilities, and operational centres.
The United Nations estimates that 70 per cent of Gaza is currently either designated as a no-go zone by Israel or under an evacuation order.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues.