Revolted

Britain ‘revolted’ by Gaza hunger, Starmer tells Trump

US president says children in Gaza look ‘very hungry’ as he prepares for face-to-face with British prime minister.

By Dan Bloom, Noah Keate and Martin Alfonsin Larsen

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Donald Trump Monday that the people of Gaza face an “absolute catastrophe” and that Brits are “revolted” by what they see.

Starmer, who is being hosted at Trump’s Turnberry golf resort as the president visits Scotland, raised the crisis in the strip on his way into a bilateral meeting with the U.S. president.

Speaking as Starmer and his wife Victoria arrived for talks, Trump was pressed by reporters on whether he agreed with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s assessment that there is “no starvation” in Gaza.

The U.S. president rejected that characterization, saying: “Based on television, I would say not particularly, because those children look very hungry — but we’re giving a lot of money and a lot of food, and other nations are now stepping up.”

Starmer, who faces intense domestic pressure over Gaza, including from MPs in his own party, then chimed in to say: “It’s a humanitarian crisis. It’s an absolute catastrophe. Nobody wants to see that.

“And I think people in Britain are revolted at what they’re seeing on their screens. So we’ve got to get to that ceasefire. And thank you, Mr. President, for leading on that, and also to just get more and more aid in.”

Speaking after their meeting, Trump said Israel bears “a lot of responsibility” for the hunger facing the people of Gaza, while stressing that the Netanyahu administration remains “hampered” as hostages continue to be held by Hamas more than a year after the deadly October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel. “They really want the 20 hostages to survive, live, to make it,” the U.S. president said of Israel.

Standing alongside Trump, Starmer said: “We need to get the hostages out… they’ve been held for a very long time, and we must always start from there. But I also recognize that the situation on the ground in Gaza is absolutely intolerable…

“Speaking for the British public and myself, images of starving children in particular are revolting. There’s a sense of revulsion in the British public.”

The comments come after more than 200 British MPs from nine parties signed a letter Friday calling for an immediate recognition of a Palestinian state, arguing this would have a “significant impact due to our historic connections.” French President Emmanuel Macron upped the ante last week, as he committed France to such a move.

Though insisting statehood is the “inalienable right” of the Palestinian people, Starmer has so far resisted slapping a timeframe on such a move. He has said recognition will happen “at a time most conducive to the prospects of peace.” 

Pressed on that stance, Trump said of Starmer: “I’m not going to take a position. I don’t mind him taking a position. I’m looking for getting people fed.”