Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office denied reports alleging President Trump berated the leader for denying there is a starvation crisis in Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas war.
“The report alleging that a shouting match occurred between Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump is total fake news,” Netanyahu’s office said in a Friday statement after NBC News reported the turbulent discussion.
The phone call reportedly occurred on July 28, after the president told reporters he’d seen images of individuals who “look very hungry” and said there’s “real starvation” just a day after Netanyahu rejected stories detailing famine.
The Israeli prime minister requested a conversation with Trump during his trip to Scotland and was connected to the leader within hours, NBC News reported.
One U.S. official told the outlet that the president did “most of the talking” during “a direct, mostly one-way conversation about the status of humanitarian aid.”
Tensions over humanitarian aid on the ground, particularly the American Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), came up.
“The U.S. not only feels like the situation is dire, but they own it because of GHF,” the former U.S. official briefed on the call told NBC.
The White House said the Trump administration’s priority is to deliver food to those in need while pushing forward with ceasefire negotiations.
In recent days, U.S. allies Canada, France and the United Kingdom have echoed calls to defuse conflict in the region amid the humanitarian crisis.
