Trump Says He Expected ‘Thank You’ for Donations to Mass Death Traps in Gaza

Turnberry (Quds News Network)- US President Donald Trump said he expected a “thank you” for donations to the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which runs a controversial aid distribution system in Gaza and has been described as a “mass death trap.”

During a news conference with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Turnberry, Scotland, on Sunday, Trump was asked whether Israel should be doing more to allow aid into Gaza, Trump said: “We gave $60m two weeks ago for food for Gaza, and nobody acknowledged it.”

“You know, you really at least want to have somebody say thank you. No other country gave anything,” he said.

“None of the European countries, by the way, gave. I mean, nobody gave but us.”

Trump apparently referred to US donations to the GHF. Last month, the US said it has approved $30m in direct funding for the GHF.

“We’re giving a lot of money, a lot of food, a lot of everything,” Trump added. “If we weren’t there, I think people would have starved, frankly. They would have starved, and it’s not like they’re eating well.”

On March 2, Israel announced the closure of Gaza’s main crossings, cutting off food, medical and humanitarian supplies, worsening a humanitarian crisis for 2.3 million Palestinians, according to reports by human rights organisations who have accused it of using starvation as a weapon of war against Palestinians.

An Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report in May warned that almost a quarter of the civilian population would face catastrophic levels of food insecurity (IPC Phase Five) in the coming months.

After more than 80 days of total blockade, starvation, and growing international outrage, limited aid has allegedly been distributed by the GHF, a scandal-plagued organization backed by the US and Israel, created to bypass the UN’s established aid delivery infrastructure in the Gaza Strip.

Most humanitarian organisations, including the UN, have distanced themselves from GHF, arguing that the group violates humanitarian principles by restricting aid to south and central Gaza, requiring Palestinians to walk long distances to collect aid, and only providing limited aid, among other critiques. They have also said the model would increase forced displacement in Gaza.

The UN confirmed that Israel is still blocking food from reaching starving Palestinians with only a few trucks of aid having reached Gaza.

Moreover, Israeli mass killings of aid seekers near GHF aid sites have become a grim daily reality amid chaotic scenes, as desperate Palestinians are given only a narrow window to rush for food and are targeted by Israeli forces.

Palestinians in Gaza and the UN described these sites as “mass death traps” and “slaughterhouses”.

Since the GHF started its operations on May 27 in Gaza, over 1000 aid seekers have been killed by Israeli forces and American mercenaries and over 60,000 others injured, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Additionally, 49 others have been reported missing after heading to the GHF sites to obtain food.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warned that “weaponizing aid in this manner may constitute crimes against humanity.”

“Every day Palestinians are met with carnage in their attempts to receive supplies from the insufficient amount of aid trickling into Gaza,” MSF said.

Over 100 humanitarian organizations, including Amnesty International, Doctors Without Borders (MSF), and Oxfam, warned on Wednesday that “mass starvation” is spreading across Gaza, with their colleagues in the enclave wasting away from hunger as Israel continues to block the entry of aid.

The World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that thousands of Palestinians in Gaza are “on the verge of catastrophic hunger,” with one in three people in the enclave going days without food.

Health officials in Gaza issued a stark warning lately: Hundreds of severely emaciated Palestinians are on the verge of death, their bodies too weak to resist any longer.

Earlier this month, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor called for Trump to face criminal prosecution for being complicit in the controversial aid distribution system in Gaza.