Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas is confiscating humanitarian shipments bound for Gaza and is therefore responsible for the food shortages reported in the enclave. “If we had a starvation policy, everyone in Gaza would already be dead,” he told international media this week, adding that the hunger problem “has basically been solved.” An Israel Defense Forces expert review released on 12 Aug. supports Netanyahu’s assertion, stating it found “no signs of a widespread malnutrition phenomenon” in Gaza. The military said it could verify only a handful of malnutrition deaths and attributed most of the 130 fatalities cited by the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry to pre-existing medical conditions. The IDF added that it will continue daily humanitarian pauses and secure corridors for aid convoys. Hamas rejected the Israeli findings, accusing Netanyahu of using controlled aid distribution to engineer hunger and force Palestinians to leave the territory. The group said Israel’s insistence on routing assistance through what it called an “inhumane Gaza institution” is proof of a deliberate starvation strategy. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee echoed the Israeli position, claiming in media interviews that Hamas steals or loots up to 88 percent of United Nations food deliveries and diverts supplies to build tunnels. He argued that international attention should focus on the Israeli hostages still held in Gaza rather than on accusations that Israel is withholding food from civilians.