Trump stays silent on Gaza’s famine

Two days after experts officially declared that a famine is unfolding in Gaza, President Donald Trump has yet to acknowledge the devastating new findings about the consequences of the US-backed war.

On Friday, an analysis released by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC)—a coalition of 21 organizations, including Save the Children, UNICEF, the World Bank, and the World Health Organization—confirmed that an “entirely man-made” famine is, indeed, taking place in Gaza City, and that the nearby cities of Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis are also at risk of famine.

“The time for debate and hesitation has passed, starvation is present and is rapidly spreading,” the IPC report says. “There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that an immediate, at-scale response is needed. Any further delay—even by days—will result in a totally unacceptable escalation of Famine-related mortality.”

More than a half million people in Gaza are facing “starvation, destitution and death,” and more than 600,000 are expected to face catastrophic conditions between now and the end of September, according to the IPC. In addition, at least 132,000 kids under five years old are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition between now and June 2026. The IPC defines famine as occurring when three conditions are met: When at least a fifth of households in a given area are facing an extreme lack of food; at least 30 percent of children are suffering from acute malnutrition, and two out of every 10,000 people are dying daily due to starvation or the combination of malnutrition and disease.

The assessment—just the fifth time the IPC has ever declared a famine—follows prior warnings from the IPC that increasing numbers of Palestinians were at risk of starvation in Gaza. That trend continued following the launch of the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US-backed Israeli aid distribution system that aid groups have decried as inefficient and dangerous. Israeli officials have defended that organization by claiming the system is required to prevent Hamas from interfering with food distribution, though officials have not provided evidence that this was ever happening at a large scale.

In the wake of the latest IPC findings, top aid officials called for immediate action. UN Relief Chief Tom Fletcher said the report offers “irrefutable testimony” that famine is happening in Gaza. In a direct appeal to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Fletcher said: “For humanity’s sake, let us in.”

“All of Gaza is being systematically starved by design, and children are paying the highest price,” Inger Ashing, CEO of Save the Children, said in a statement. “Palestinian children are their society’s future—and that future, and theirs, has been irrevocably undermined.”

Erika Guevara Rosas, Amnesty International’s senior director for research, advocacy, policy and campaigns, said in a statement: “To even begin reversing the devastating consequences of Israel’s inhumane policies and actions, the world must take action now,” adding that Israel should lift its aid blockade and allow the UN to distribute unrestricted aid and that all parties must agree to a ceasefire.

Israel, for its part, dismissed the findings, alleging that the IPC’s methodology was flawed and that it overstated its findings. In an interview on CBS’ Face the Nation Sunday, Catherine Russell, executive director of UNICEF, called this claim “obscene,” adding, “We know children are dying.”

Trump has remained silent about the new report in recent days, instead posting on Truth Social about golfing with former baseball player Roger Clemens and potentially sending federal troops to Maryland. His silence is all the more notable given that he has seemingly recognized the seriousness of the situation in Gaza in the past. In May, Trump acknowledged that “a lot of people are starving” in Gaza; last month, he described the conditions there as “real starvation stuff.” But the fact that he has not commented on the latest findings, or publicly pressured Israel to change course and allow in unrestricted food and aid, suggests that his prior comments may not have signaled a sustained commitment to preventing starvation.

Spokespeople for the White House and the State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Mother Jones on Sunday.