U.S. President Donald Trump acknowledged on Friday that “a lot of people are starving” in Gaza, where over 70 people were reported killed overnight in Israeli airstrikes.
Speaking in Abu Dhabi at the close of his first foreign tour of his second term, Trump said, “We’re looking at Gaza. And we’re going to get that taken care of.” His Middle East tour included several Gulf countries but notably excluded Israel.
The latest surge in violence follows the collapse of a two-month ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in March. Israel reimposed a full blockade on Gaza on March 2, which aid agencies say has triggered a severe humanitarian crisis. The Israeli government says the aid cutoff is a pressure tactic to force Hamas to release dozens of Israeli hostages taken during the October 2023 attack.
On Friday, Gaza’s civil defence agency reported 74 deaths from overnight strikes. “We were asleep when suddenly everything exploded,” said Umm Mohammed al-Tatari, 57, a northern Gaza resident. Another resident, Ahmed Nasr, said they endured relentless bombing throughout the night.
Footage from Beit Lahia’s Indonesian Hospital showed grieving families and injured victims on bloodstained floors. “They were innocent people,” said Mayar Salem, mourning her sisters and daughters.
Since Israel resumed attacks on March 18, Gaza’s health ministry reports over 2,800 deaths, bringing the total death toll since the war began to more than 53,000. The Israeli military claims to have struck over 150 “terror targets” in the last 24 hours.
Meanwhile, Israeli hostage families expressed frustration. “This is a historic opportunity that must not be missed,” said the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. Another group, the Tikva Forum, urged intensified military and diplomatic pressure, including cutting Gaza’s water and electricity.
The UN says about 70% of Gaza is either under evacuation order or deemed a no-go zone by Israel. Humanitarian conditions have deteriorated rapidly, with severe shortages of food, clean water, fuel, and medical supplies. The World Health Organization reported that the last hospital offering cancer and cardiac care has been shut down following Israeli attacks.
While a U.S.-supported NGO, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, has pledged to begin aid distribution soon, the UN has declined involvement. Senior Hamas official Basem Naim reiterated that reopening humanitarian corridors is the “minimum requirement” for restarting negotiations.
