It comes as Keir Starmer is expected to summon ministers for an emergency Cabinet meeting this week to discuss a UK-led plan for peace in Gaza
Donald Trump vowed to press Israel’s President Benjamin Netanyahu to allow more aid into Gaza today – saying “you’ve got to feed the kids.”
It comes as Keir Starmer is expected to summon ministers for an emergency Cabinet meeting this week to discuss a UK-led plan for peace in Gaza.
The Prime Minister yesterday travelled with his wife, Victoria, to the US President’s Turnberry golf resort in South Ayrshire, Scotland – where the situation in the Middle East was high on the agenda for talks.
Mr Starmer arrived at the luxury resort to the sound of a bagpiper, and was greeted warmly by Mr Trump.
Asked if he agreed with President Netanyahu that there was “no starvation in Gaza”, Trump said that based on what he’d seen on television, he did not.
“The children look very, very hungry,” Trump said.
Mr Starmer was far more forceful: “I think people in Britain are revolted at seeing what they are seeing on their screens.”
Later, in remarks ahead of their meeting, Trump said the US would set up food centres in Gaza as part of increased US involvement in tackling the humanitarian crisis – and would be speaking to President Netanyahu on the subject.
He said: “Before we go ahead to phase two, which is, you know what happens next, we’ve got to get the kids fed.”
Mr Trump said Israel “has a lot of responsibility” for what’s happening – but said the country is hampered by fears for the safety of the remaining hostages.
“I think Israel can do a lot,” he added.
Earlier, Trump had complained that he had been given insufficient credit and gratitude for sending “$60 million worth of food aid” to Gaza.
“Nobody said even thank you,” Trump said. “Somebody should say thank you.”
Mr Starmer’s recall of ministers comes after he held talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the weekend.
The PM is due to present the blueprint to allies, including the US and Arab states, in the coming days as the UK comes under increasing pressure over the humanitarian crisis gripping Gaza.
Writing in the Mirror on Friday, Mr Starmer compared the move to the ‘coalition of the willing’ he has sought to build with France of allies prepared to support a peace deal in Europe.
The PM has resisted following France’s lead in committing to recognise a Palestinian state in September, despite more than 250 cross-party MPs urging the UK to act now.
The PM’s official spokesman said: “This week, the Prime Minister is focused on a pathway to peace to ensure immediate relief for those on the ground, and a sustainable route to a two-state solution.”
He added: “We are clear that the recognition of the Palestinian state is a matter of when, not if, but it must be one of the steps on the path to a two state solution as part of a wider plan that delivers lasting security for both Palestinians and Israelis.”
Foreign Secretary David Lammy will attend a UN conference on the two-state solution in New York tomorrow.
Mr and Mrs Starmer were greeted by President Trump on the steps of Turnberry’s luxury hotel, where a bagpiper played traditional Scots music to mark the occasion.
Mr Trump said Mrs Starmer, whom he described as Mr Starmer’s “First Lady” was “very respected across the United States.”
Asked whether he would do a deal to reduce tariffs on Scotch Whiskey imports into the US, he said he didn’t know it was an issue.
“I don’t drink whisky,” the famously teetotal President said. “Maybe I’ll have some whisky today.”
After their bilateral meeting, which was also expected to refine the details of the trade deal the UK agreed with Trump in May, the pair travelled north to Trump’s other Scottish golf resort in Aberdeenshire.