What reporting in Gaza shows amid Trump's break from Netanyahu on starvation

Summary

Consider This from NPR: What Reporting in Gaza Shows Amid Trump's Break from Netanyahu on Starvation

Introduction

In the July 28, 2025 episode of NPR's "Consider This," titled "What Reporting in Gaza Shows Amid Trump's Break from Netanyahu on Starvation," hosts delve into the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The episode examines the complex interplay between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump, the international community's responses, and on-the-ground realities faced by Gaza's civilians.

Shifting Political Narratives

The episode opens with Mary Louise Kelly highlighting the emerging dynamics between Netanyahu and Trump:

"New light has emerged between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Trump. On Sunday, Netanyahu reasserted this claim." [00:00]

Anas Bhabha challenges the portrayal of Israel's actions in Gaza:

"Israel is presented as though we are applying a campaign of starvation in Gaza. What a bold-faced lie." [00:09]

However, President Trump offers a contrasting perspective during his visit to Scotland:

"That's real starvation stuff. I see it and you can't fake that." [00:24]

He further supports his stance by emphasizing humanitarian aid:

"Those children look very hungry, but we're giving a lot of money and a lot of food. And other nations are now stepping up. I know that this nation is right." [00:29]

Despite previous setbacks in ceasefire discussions, Trump remains cautiously optimistic:

"I thought a ceasefire was still possible." [00:48]

He outlines potential solutions, including setting up aid centers:

"The US would set up centers with no boundaries where people could walk in for food." [01:04]

Intensifying Humanitarian Crisis

Mary Louise Kelly underscores the gravity of the situation:

"It's a humanitarian crisis. It's an absolute catastrophe." [00:45]

NPR's Eleanor Beardsley provides a firsthand account of Gaza's dire conditions:

"I've come into Gaza with the IDF. We've had an escort. We were brought in in trucks. We're wearing our gear, our flak jackets and our helmets. I can hear shooting like tank fire and small gunfire in the distance. This is a desolate place that feels like the end of the earth." [03:31]

Conflict Over Aid Distribution

Elon Levy, an Israeli government spokesperson, criticizes the United Nations' role in aid distribution:

"Israel has called the UN's bluff because here are hundreds and hundreds of pallets of aid that the UN is letting rot in the sun. And instead of taking responsibility for that failure, fessing up, they're blaming Israel and pretending that Israel isn't letting this aid in altogether." [04:10]

In response, the United Nations clarifies the challenges faced:

"It's impossible to deliver the aid under what it called extremely challenging circumstances that put civilians and aid workers at tremendous risk." [04:25]

Brigadier General Effi Defron of the Israeli army echoes Israeli officials' stance:

"We've seen the pictures coming out of Gaza. It's breaking our hearts. But most of it is fake, fake distributed by Hamas. It's a campaign. Unfortunately, some of the Israeli media, including international media, is distributing this information in those false pictures and creating an image of starvation which doesn't exist." [05:08]

Contrary to these claims, the UN Human Rights Office reports:

"About 90,000 women and children are severely malnourished in Gaza and need immediate medical care." [05:08]

Personal Stories Highlighting Crisis

Anas Bhabha brings personal narratives to the forefront, illustrating the human toll of the crisis:

"In this tent by the sea, Hiday Al Mutawak tries to offer what comfort she can to her youngest child, 1 1/2 year old Muhammad. She don't have anything. The child weighs less than four and a half kilograms. His mother is feeding him water, only water, and she's all of the time trying to tell the world that the famine and the malnutrition is hitting severely in Gaza and spreading non-stop." [05:51]

Dr. Ahmed Al Farra emphasizes the long-term impacts on children:

"This war is scarring a generation of children." [07:28]

President Trump adds his perspective on the developmental consequences:

"A generation of children who are below three years because the central nervous system is nearly composed in these three years." [07:39]

Anas Bhabha continues to highlight potential neurological impairments:

"If these children survive, Al Farra worries they will suffer from neurological impairments." [07:49]

Salwa Shamali, a 20-year-old from Gaza, shares her struggles to support her family:

"Salwa Shamali... spends all her time trying find ways to keep her young siblings alive. She says, 'I care more about food and water. I don't care about the news. Half of our family are young children and we think of them more.'" [08:05]

Hiday Al Mutawak's story further personalizes the crisis:

"Hiday Al Mutawak... tries to keep her one and a half-year-old son Muhammad alive. She had lost her home, her livelihood, but she has her two children and wants to keep them both alive." [08:25]

Conclusion and Call to Action

Mary Louise Kelly wraps up the segment by emphasizing the urgent need for a ceasefire to facilitate effective aid delivery:

"Even as global outrage and assistance grows, aid agencies say only a total ceasefire will allow all the necessary aid to get to those who desperately need it in Gaza." [01:04]

Production Credits

The episode was produced by Elena Burnett and Megan Lynne, edited by Ashley Brown and Tara Neal, with Sami Yenigun serving as the executive producer.

Supporting Journalism

The episode concludes with a reminder of NPR's commitment to independent journalism amidst funding challenges, urging listeners to support through donations.

"Federal funding for public media has been eliminated. That means that the NPR network is moving forward in an uncharted future. But our commitment to you will never waver. Please give today to support the kind of journalism that democracy relies upon." [01:41]

Listen and Support

Listeners are encouraged to access "Consider This" through various platforms and consider supporting NPR's vital work through donations or subscription services.

Transcript

[Mary Louise Kelly]

New light has emerged between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Trump. On Sunday, Netanyahu reasserted this claim.

[Anas Bhabha]

Israel is presented as though we are applying a campaign of starvation in Gaza. What a bold faced lie.

[Mary Louise Kelly]

By Monday, Trump was among the Western leaders rejecting that claim.

[Donald Trump]

That's real starvation stuff. I see it and you can't fake that.

[Mary Louise Kelly]

President Trump joined British Prime Minister Keir during a visit to Scotland and said the crisis is evident.

[Donald Trump]

Those children look very hungry, but we're giving a lot of money and a lot of food. And other nations are now stepping up. I know that this nation is right.

[Anas Bhabha]

It's a humanitarian crisis. It's an absolute catastrophe.

[Mary Louise Kelly]

And the humanitarian crisis has only intensified. After ceasefire talks broke down again last week, Trump said he thought a ceasefire was still possible.

[Donald Trump]

I told Israel, I told Bibi that you're going to have to now maybe do it.

[Mary Louise Kelly]

Trump said the US Would work with its European partners to address the crisis in Gaza and that the US Would set up centers with no boundaries where people could walk in for food. But consider this. Even as global outrage and assistance grows, aid agencies say only a total ceasefire will allow all the necessary aid to get to those who desperately need it in Gaza. After the break, we'll hear from NPR reporters on the ground. From npr, I'm Mary Louise Kelly.

[Catherine Marr]

Hi, it's Catherine Marr, CEO of npr. Federal funding for public media has been eliminated. That means that the NPR network is moving forward in an uncharted future. But our commitment to you will never waver. Please give today to support the kind of journalism that democracy relies upon. Make your [e-mail] thank you.

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[Mary Louise Kelly]

It's consider this from NPR under intense, intense international pressure, Israel announced over the weekend it would begin a daily 10 hour pause in fighting to allow the delivery of some aid to people in Gaza. Now, Gaza has been sealed off from international journalists since Israel launched the war. Over the weekend, NPR's Eleanor Beardsley was allowed rare access by the Israeli military, the idf. As the Israelis responded to international outrage over the earlier block of aid, what Eleanor saw was far from a clear picture.

[Eleanor Beardsley]

I've come into Gaza with the idf. We've had an escort. We were brought in in trucks. We're wearing our gear, our flak jacket and our helmets. I can hear shooting like tank fire and small gun fire in the distance. This is a desolate place that feels like the end of the earth. There's rotting oil, beans, baby formula, diapers just stacked up rotting in the sun. There are birds picking at it.

[Mary Louise Kelly]

The IDF cited that scene as proof that the United nations is not doing its job to distribute the aid. Here's Elon Levy, an Israeli government spokesperson.

[Elon Levy]

Israel has called the UN's bluff because here are hundreds and hundreds of pallets of aid that the UN is letting rot in the sun. And instead of taking responsibility for that failure, fessing up, they're blaming Israel and pretending that Israel isn't letting this aid in altogether.

[Mary Louise Kelly]

The UN put out a statement saying it was impossible to deliver the aid under what it called extremely challenging circumstances that put civilians and aid workers at tremendous risk. The UN human rights office says more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed trying to access food since May, mostly near distribution sites run by the US and Israeli backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Brigadier General Effi Defron, an Israeli army spokesperson, spoke to the group of journalists in Gaza and said they are closely monitoring events. He said conditions are hard for Palestinians, but he, like other Israeli government officials, claims there is no starvation.

[Israeli Army Spokesperson]

We've seen the pictures coming out of Gaza. It's breaking our hearts. But most of it is fake, Fake distributed by Hamas. It's a campaign. Unfortunately, some of the Israeli media, including international media, is distributing this information in those false pictures and creating an image of starvation which doesn't exist.

[Mary Louise Kelly]

However, the United nations says about 90,000 women and children are severely malnourished in Gaza and need immediate medical care. NPR's Anas Bhabha, who lives in Gaza City, sent us this report and listeners should know it includes descriptions and sounds of people, including children, suffering in war.

[Anas Bhabha]

In this tent by the sea, Hiday Al Mutawak tries to offer what comfort she can to her youngest child, 1 1/2 year Old Muhammad, she don't have anything. The child that he weighs less than four and a half kilograms. His mother is feeding him water, only water, and she's all of the time trying to tell the world that the famine and the malnutrition is hitting severely in Gaza and spreading non stop. Muhammad is nearly all bone, his eyes protruding, his spine so sharp and so defined it seems it might poke through his thin skin. Muhammad's older sister is doing okay, but he's so young his small body has not been able to withstand the hunger. All the hospitals in Gaza told his mother they had nothing left, no food, no milk to give her. So she cradles Muhammad, strokes his thinning hair. But what he needs is to eat. She no longer has breast milk because she's malnourished. This is just one family, and Gaza has about 1 million children. That's about half of the population. Israel says it's letting in food through its own distribution program backed by the U.S. but the system does not reach many people and has been deadly for many Palestinians, with dozens of people this week alone killed by Israeli gunfire. This war is scarring a generation of children, says Ahmed Al Farra, a doctor who heads the pediatric ward at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza.

[Donald Trump]

A generation of children who are below three years because the central nervous system is nearly composed in this three years.

[Anas Bhabha]

If these children survive, Al Farah worries they will suffer from neurological impairments proved.

[Donald Trump]

By the starvation, like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, difficulty in school performance, in comprehension speaking.

[Anas Bhabha]

Salwa Shamali is a 20 years old, which makes her one of the older siblings in her family here in Gaza. She spends all her time trying find ways to keep her young siblings alive, she says. I care more about food and water. I don't care about the news. Half of our family are young children and we think of them more. Shamalis days are dictated by the never ending search for food and water. She says at 6am they can sometimes get water, and at 2pm My brothers try to get food from a local charity or School. At 6pm her father ventures out but usually comes back with nothing. Hiday Al Mutawwak's world is even smaller. It's distant by the Mediterranean Sea, trying to keep one and a half year old Muhammad alive. Al Mutawak was displaced here after her husband was killed in Israel's war in Gaza. She had lost her home, her livelihood, but she had her two children and she wants to keep them both alive. Anis Baba, NPR News, Gaza City.

[Mary Louise Kelly]

This episode was produced by Elena Burnett and Megan Lynne. It was edited by Ashley Brown and Tara Neal. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. It's Consider this from npr. I'm Mary Louise Kelly.

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