NBC reports a heated exchange between Netanyahu and Trump over Gaza starvation claims, prompting U.S. envoy’s urgent visit; Israel denies confrontation.
A private phone call between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly spiraled into a full-blown shouting match over the humanitarian situation in Gaza, NBC News revealed Thursday.
The tense conversation, according to one American official, two former U.S. officials, and a Western diplomat, took place July 28—just a day after Netanyahu publicly declared:
“There is no policy of starvation in Gaza. And there is no starvation in Gaza.”
At the time, Trump was in Scotland and directly contradicted Netanyahu’s remarks when asked by reporters.
During the call, Netanyahu reportedly insisted that claims of hunger in Gaza were “fabricated” by Hamas. But NBC sources say Trump cut him off mid-sentence and began yelling:
“I don’t want to hear that the starvation is fake—my aides have shown me proof that children there are starving.”
The dispute centered on the operations of the Gaza humanitarian aid fund, which has been a point of friction between the two allies.
Following the fiery exchange, the White House dispatched U.S. Special Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff to the region in an effort to align U.S. and Israeli positions on aid distribution and humanitarian conditions.
While both U.S. and Israeli officials refused to comment on NBC’s account, the Prime Minister’s Office issued a blunt denial:
“The report alleging that a shouting match occurred between Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump is total fake news.”
The alleged clash underscores the growing strain between Washington and Jerusalem, even under two leaders who have long projected a close personal alliance.
