Trump Discusses Gaza Humanitarian Efforts

On Friday, President Donald Trump addressed his administration’s support for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a U.S. nonprofit dedicated to providing millions of meals to Palestinians in Gaza.

Speaking in the Oval Office alongside foreign ministers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, who had recently signed a peace agreement, Trump responded to questions from reporters regarding the situation in Gaza.

“You know, we supply the area with a lot of money, a lot of food,” Trump stated. While he didn’t specifically name the GHF, he referred to a recent announcement by the State Department regarding an allocation of $30 million for a group distributing around 20-30 million meals daily in Gaza.

The GHF serves as an alternative to aid from UN agencies, which sometimes faces misappropriation by armed groups like Hamas. According to reports, Hamas has retained some of the aid for its own use while selling the remainder on the black market, leading to further suffering for the Palestinian people.

Hamas, along with UN officials, has criticized the GHF. They have made claims that Israeli Defense Forces are targeting Palestinians at GHF food distribution sites. These allegations have often been propagated by mainstream Western media, only to be later retracted. The GHF asserts that, although incidents of violence have occurred at UN aid centers, their own distribution sites have not experienced violence.

The foundation expressed a willingness to work with the United Nations, but Secretary-General Antonio Guterres declined the proposal. On Friday, he claimed that the GHF is “inherently unsafe” and may be “killing people,” a statement he made without providing supporting evidence.

In the Oval Office, Trump highlighted ongoing issues of aid theft, saying, “It’s been filmed by some bad people… They’re going to steal food and sell it. But we have a pretty good system now, so we’re helping out that.”

He also criticized the lack of support from other nations and expressed his belief that humanitarian efforts should take precedence. “It’s a shame that other countries aren’t helping. No one is helping. I think we have to be humanely based, so we do that,” he remarked.

Trump concluded by expressing optimism about potentially resolving the ongoing conflict in Gaza in the near future.