Trump urges Israel to let food aid into Gaza to tackle 'real starvation'

President intervenes in rebuke to Netanyahu during visit to Scotland

- Eleni Courea Libby Brooks

Donald Trump told Israel yesterday to allow "every ounce of food" into Gaza as he acknowledged for the first time "real starvation" in the region.

During a visit to Britain, the US president contradicted Benjamin Netanyahu after Israel's prime minister claimed it was a "bold-faced lie" to say Israel was causing hunger in Gaza.

Trump faces growing pressure to intervene after dozens of Palestinians died of hunger in recent weeks in a crisis attributed by humanitarian organisations and the UN to Israel's blockade of almost all aid into the territory.

In meetings with Keir Starmer - including a rambling 70-minute press conference at Trump's Turnberry golf resort in Scotland - Trump also said he was losing patience with Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine and vowed to impose sanctions on Russia's trading partners within 10 to 12 days if there was no ceasefire.

He heaped praise on Starmer, but in a domestic intervention that will not have been appreciated by the UK prime minister, Trump urged him to cut taxes and tackle illegal immigration to win the next election.

Starmer privately pressed Trump on Gaza during the trip, UK government sources said.

In a rebuke to Netanyahu, Trump told reporters Israel bore "a lot of responsibility" for the Gaza crisis.

Netanyahu claimed earlier yesterday there was "no starvation in Gaza". Asked whether he agreed with this assessment, Trump said: "I don't know. Based on television, I would say not particularly. Those children look very hungry." He later added: "We can save a lot of people, I mean some of those kids, that's real starvation. You can't fake that. So we're going to be even more involved."