President Donald Trump expressed disappointment Sunday that nobody has thanked him for sending money meant to go toward food aid for Gaza, as Palestinians continue to die every day — either by starvation or by Israeli gunfire at U.S.-backed aid sites.
Appearing in Scotland alongside EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Trump was asked if Israel should do more to get sufficient aid into the Palestinian territory it has nearly flattened. The president responded with a bizarre complaint.
“We gave $60 million two weeks ago for food for Gaza, and nobody acknowledged it, nobody talks about it. And it makes you feel a little bad when you do that, and you know, you have other countries not giving anything,” he said, later specifying European countries.
“Nobody said, ‘Gee, thank you very much,’” he continued. “And it would be nice to have at least a thank you.”
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The president did not specifically say where the $60 million he referenced came from or to whom it was sent. Reuters reported last month that the State Department approved $30 million for the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Aid groups, lawmakers and the United Nations have condemned GHF for bringing starving families to food distribution sites only for Israeli soldiers and U.S. mercenaries to open fire on the crowds.
Since GHF launched in May, Israeli forces have killed more than a thousand Palestinians seeking aid, the United Nations human rights office said.
None of the other countries Trump is presumably referring to financially supports GHF, though they do fund the U.N. agency GHF is trying to replace. The EU and other European governments also donate substantially toward the World Food Program and other aid groups. Some Arab countries have also delivered humanitarian assistance and given money toward Gaza relief.
“It’s a mess, that whole place is a mess,” Trump said Sunday of Gaza.
“We’re giving a lot of money and a lot of food and a lot of everything,” he continued. “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.”
Palestinians are already starving, due to both bombs destroying the territory as well as Israel’s massive aid restrictions it claims are due to thefts by Hamas. Trump repeated the same claim Sunday, despite a New York Times report one day earlier revealing that Israeli military officials have no proof Hamas militants routinely steal aid.
“Claims were only aimed at tarnishing the reputation of the humanitarian community & attempting to replace it with a diabolic and politically motivated distribution scheme,” Philippe Lazzarini, chief of the U.N. agency responsible for Palestinian aid (UNRWA), posted Sunday on X, formerly Twitter. “It’s time for a principled and at scale humanitarian response including through UNRWA.”
After mounting international pressure in response to recent images out of Gaza that show Palestinian children starving to death, the Israeli military began a “tactical pause” in three areas of the territory starting Sunday to allow for increased aid deliveries. Trump said he spoke over the weekend to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said the military will continue fighting in Gaza during the pause.