Trump rebukes Netanyahu over Gaza: "The famine is real and cannot be denied"

The American network "NBC" revealed a tense phone call that took place last week between U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, following controversial statements made by the latter regarding the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.

According to the network, the dispute between the two leaders escalated when Netanyahu denied the existence of famine in Gaza, claiming during the call that "talk of hunger is a fabrication by Hamas."

However, Trump, who appeared angry, abruptly interrupted him and shouted, saying: "The famine in Gaza is not a hoax! You cannot distort what I have seen."

The U.S. president confirmed that he had personally seen shocking images of Palestinian children suffering from severe hunger, shown to him by his advisors at the White House.

This call comes amid rising tensions between Washington and Tel Aviv, against the backdrop of increasing concerns within the U.S. administration about the management of the "Gaza Humanitarian Aid Fund," a joint relief project supported by both the United States and Israel, according to current and former U.S. officials, as well as a Western official familiar with the details.

The beginning of this escalation dates back to July 27, when Netanyahu stated during an event in Jerusalem: "There is no starvation policy in Gaza, and there is no hunger there," which sparked a wave of controversy.

On the following day, during his visit to Scotland, Trump publicly responded to these statements, saying: "I saw the pictures, there are children who look very hungry. There is a real famine in Gaza. You cannot distort that."

After these statements, Netanyahu requested a phone call with Trump, which took place within hours, according to the network's report from a senior U.S. official and a former official.

However, the call did not go as Netanyahu had hoped, as he faced a strong reaction from Trump, who directly told him that he did not want to hear any denial of the famine, reiterating that "the evidence is clear, and the children there are starving."

And although both the White House and the Israeli government refused to comment on the details of the call, one former U.S. official described it as "one-sided," explaining that Trump "was the main speaker and expressed his position on humanitarian aid to Gaza with great anger."

The source confirmed that the U.S. administration not only sees the humanitarian situation in Gaza as extremely dire, but also feels responsible for it, given its direct involvement in managing the humanitarian aid fund.

This public confrontation between Trump and Netanyahu highlights a clear rift in the relationship between Washington and Tel Aviv, and an increasing disagreement over the assessment of the catastrophic situation in Gaza, amid international criticism of the current mechanism for distributing aid, and delays in implementing urgent international humanitarian agreements.