Trump: US will help 'starving' Gazans get food, but Hamas 'making it impossible'

US President Donald Trump said that his administration will help get food to “starving” Gazans amid a two-month-and-counting Israeli aid blockade, but added that Hamas has made it “impossible” by diverting humanitarian assistance for its fighters, Report informs via The Times of Israel.

“We’re going to help the people of Gaza get some food. People are starving, and we’re going to help them get some food,” Trump told reporters during an event at the White House.

Israeli officials to date have claimed that Gazans are not yet starving and that enough aid entered the Strip during a six-week ceasefire to sustain the Strip for an extended period of time, even though they have also argued — like Trump — that Hamas has been stealing aid.

Data and testimony from inside the Strip point to a worsening hunger crisis and rising rates of malnutrition, while Israel works on implementing a new system to distribute aid in a manner that it hopes will prevent its diversion by Hamas. International aid organizations briefed on the initiative said Sunday that they won’t cooperate with it, as it doesn’t properly address the humanitarian crisis.

“A lot of people are making it very, very bad,” Trump continued. “Hamas is making it impossible because they’re taking everything that’s brought in.”

The president added that Palestinians in Gaza are “being treated very badly by Hamas.”