Trump says many in Gaza are 'starving'

ABU DHABI

U.S. President Donald Trump said on May 16 "a lot of people are starving" in the besieged Gaza Strip, where rescuers reported more than 88 deaths in Israeli air strikes since midnight.

Trump's brief comments on Gaza came as he capped the first foreign tour of his second term that saw him visit several Gulf countries but excluded key ally Israel.

A two-month ceasefire between Israel and Hamas collapsed in March, shortly after Israel reimposed a total blockade on Gaza that aid agencies say has sparked critical food shortages.

On May 16, Gaza's civil defense agency said that 88 people had been killed in Israeli strikes since midnight, with medics reporting dozens more injured.

"We're looking at Gaza. And we're going to get that taken care of. A lot of people are starving," Trump told reporters in Abu Dhabi.

Israel cut off aid to Gaza on March 2, a tactic it has said is intended to force concessions from Hamas, which is still holding dozens of Israeli hostages it seized in October 2023.

Hamas insisted on May 15 that the restoration of humanitarian assistance to the war-ravaged territory was "the minimum requirement" for talks.

It also warned that Gaza was not "for sale" hours after Trump again floated taking over the territory and turning it into "a freedom zone."

Israel's latest strikes sparked panic in northern Gaza.

"We were asleep when suddenly everything exploded around us," north Gaza resident Umm Mohammed al-Tatari, 57, told AFP.

"Everyone started running. We saw the destruction with our own eyes. There was blood everywhere, body parts and corpses. We didn't know who was dead and who was still alive."

Another resident, 33-year-old Ahmed Nasr, said the bombing continued through the night.

"We couldn't sleep or find any peace. There is no safety. We could die at any moment," he said.

Hamas made an unprecedented attack on Israel in October 2023 that resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side.

Of the 251 hostages taken during the attack, 57 remain in Gaza, including 34 the military says are dead.

The Health Ministry in Gaza said 2,876 people have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 53,010.

Israeli media reported that the military had stepped up its offensive in Gaza, following government approval of a plan to retake the territory earlier this month.

Israel's main group representing families of hostages still held in Gaza said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was missing an "historic opportunity" to get their loved ones out.

"The hostages' families woke up this morning with heavy hearts and great concern in light of reports about increased attacks in Gaza and the imminent conclusion of President Trump's visit to the region," the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement.

"Missing this historic opportunity would be a resounding failure that will be remembered in infamy forever."