United States President Donald Trump says he told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that “we’ve got to be good to Gaza”, pressing him to allow food and medicine to enter the battered enclave.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, the US president was asked about whether access to food was brought up during a recent meeting with the Israeli PM.

“Gaza came up and I said ‘we’ve got to be good to Gaza’. Those people are suffering … we’re going to take care of that,” he replied. “There’s a very big need for food and medicine, and we’re taking care of it.”

When asked if the US is pushing Israel, Trump responded, “We are.”

He added that Netanyahu “thought a lot about” the request.