Donald Trump shouted at Benjamin Netanyahu during a heated phone call after the Israeli Prime Minister insisted there was no mass starvation in Gaza.
NBC News reports that the confrontation came after growing tensions between the two countries over the humanitarian situation in the war-torn enclave.
The account is based on a senior American official, two former US officials, and a Western official.
The reported clash happened on July 28, a day after Netanyahu declared in Jerusalem: ‘There is no policy of starvation in Gaza. And there is no starvation in Gaza.’
Trump later told reporters he had seen images of children in Gaza who ‘look very hungry,’ that there is ‘real starvation’ there and that ‘you can’t fake that.’ This prompted Netanyahu to ask for a phone call with the US president.
According to the officials briefed on the call, the prime minister allegedly told Trump that Hamas had made up the hunger crisis.
Trump reportedly cut him off and began shouting, saying he did not want to hear Netanyahu’s claims that the starvation is fake. It is also claimed that he said that his aides had shown him evidence of starving children.
But on Friday, Netanyahu’s office denied the report and labelled it as ‘fake news’. A statement read: ‘The claim that there was supposedly a ‘shouting match’ between Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump is complete fake news’.
One of the former US officials is said to have described the exchange as ‘a direct, mostly one-way conversation’ in which Trump did most of the talking about the status of humanitarian aid.
The row comes as the United Nations warns that famine in Gaza is imminent, with UN agencies saying many families are surviving on little more than bread and water.
Aid groups say deliveries have been blocked or delayed. Pictures and videos circulating online are said to back humanitarian groups’ assertions of malnutrition.
Netanyahu has dismissed such claims, insisting Israel is not restricting food supplies and blaming Hamas for manipulating the situation.
Following the phone call, US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff was sent to the region to work with Israel on aid coordination.
Israeli officials were reportedly pleased with the visit, believing they were able to explain the challenges they face and push back against criticism of the Gaza Humanitarian Fund.
Meanwhile, commercial satellite images viewed by US officials suggest Israel is moving troops and equipment close to the Gaza border.
Israel’s security cabinet has signed off on a plan from Netanyahu for the military to ‘take control’ of Gaza City, his office announced on Friday.
The proposal is part of a wider strategy to ‘defeat’ Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
According to the statement, the Israeli army ‘will prepare to take control of Gaza City while distributing humanitarian assistance to the civilian population outside combat zones.’
On Thursday, Netanyahu told his security cabinet that Israel aimed to take full control of Gaza but had no plans to govern it.
Speaking to Fox News earlier in the day, he said the government wanted to take ‘complete control’ of the territory, where battles have been raging since Hamas launched its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
He stressed that Israel had no desire ‘to keep’ the Gaza Strip, which it occupied in 1967 before withdrawing its forces and settlers in 2005.
Instead, he said Israel’s goal was to create a ‘security perimeter’ and then transfer control to ‘Arab forces that will govern it properly without threatening us and giving Gazans a good life.’
Netanyahu’s decision has been condemned by UK prime minister Keir Starmer, who said it was ‘wrong’ and called for a ceasefire and negotiations.
In a statement on Friday, he said: ‘The Israeli Government’s decision to further escalate its offensive in Gaza is wrong, and we urge it to reconsider immediately.
‘This action will do nothing to bring an end to this conflict or to help secure the release of the hostages. It will only bring more bloodshed.
ActionAid UK echoed Starmer’s sentiment. Its co-CEO Hanna Bond said: ‘We are deeply alarmed that the Israeli government has decided to push ahead with its plan to take control of Gaza City, which clearly violates international humanitarian law.
‘This horrifying escalation will forcibly displace hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who are already experiencing starvation and have nowhere else to flee, and will inevitably result in even more bloodshed.’
It comes after Starmer, along with the leaders of France and Canada, announced that they would begin to recognise a Palestinian state if Israel doesn’t take steps, including agreeing to a ceasefire.
When Trump was asked on Tuesday if he would support Israel’s plan to take full control of Gaza, he said: ‘I really can’t say. That’s going to be pretty much up to Israel.’ He also said he was focused on making sure people in Gaza have food.
Daily Mail has reached out to the White House to verify reports of the alleged phone call.
