Netanyahu and Trump Got in Heated Fight Over Starvation in Gaza

A U.N.-backed international food security body reported last week that the “worst-case famine scenario” is currently occurring in Gaza, where Israeli forces have restricted local access to food, water, electricity, and medicine. The report fell short of labeling the situation a full-blown famine, though at least 197 starvation deaths have been reported thus far, local health authorities told Vatican News.

Yet despite the harrowing circumstances, help may not be on the way. Speaking with reporters Thursday, Netanyahu said that Trump had effectively given Israel a pass to take over the remainder of Gaza. Trump also noted earlier in the week that any potential military occupation would be “pretty much up to Israel.”

Israel, which was founded in the wake of the Holocaust, has been building up troops and equipment near Gaza’s border, according to commercial satellite imagery. On Friday, the state announced that it would take over Gaza City, a move that critics have warned will only result in more civilian deaths in the region.