US President Donald Trump addressed the situation in Gaza during an interview with NBC News, which aired on Thursday night.
Trump discussed Friday’s scheduled trip to the Gaza Strip by his special envoy Steve Witkoff and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee.
"We want to make sure people get fed," he said, adding that he is looking forward to hearing Witkoff and Huckabee’s report on the situation.
Asked whether he trusts Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to administer US aid in Gaza, Trump replied that “he’s certainly a competent person”, adding that he remained concerned about Hamas stealing aid.
“Good management will stop that. Hopefully, the Israelis will provide that,” the President told NBC News.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced earlier on Thursday that Witkoff and Huckabee will visit Gaza together to see the situation on the ground and formulate a new solution to deliver humanitarian aid into the Strip.
"I know the topic of Israel is on everyone's mind. I have an update from Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, who I got off the phone with this morning. Special Envoy Witkoff and Ambassador Huckabee had a very productive meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu and other officials today in Israel on the topic of delivering much-needed food and aid to Gaza," Leavitt said at a press briefing.
"President Trump is a humanitarian with a big heart, and that's why he sent Special Envoy Witkoff to the region in an effort to save lives and end this crisis. Tomorrow, Special Envoy Witkoff and Ambassador Huckabee will be traveling into Gaza to inspect the current distribution sites and secure a plan to deliver more food and meet with local Gazans to hear first-hand about this dire situation on the ground. The Special Envoy and the Ambassador will brief the President immediately after their visit to approve a final plan for food and aid distribution into the region, and we will provide more details for all of you once that plan is approved and agreed on by the President of the United States," she added.
Trump commented later in the day about the situation in Gaza, after being asked by a reporter whether he agrees with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s comments that what is occurring in Gaza is a genocide.
“Oh, it's terrible what's occurring there, yeah. It's a terrible thing. People are very hungry. You know, the United States gave $60 million for food. And it's a shame because nobody, you know, I don't see the results of it, and we gave it to people that in theory are watching over it fairly closely. We wanted Israel to watch over it. But part of the problem is Hamas is taking the money and they're taking the food,” Trump said.
“But we gave $60 million a couple of weeks ago. Nobody said anything about it. Nobody said thank you. But I didn't need to thank you. I just wanted the people to get fed. And we're helping out financially with that situation,” he added.