Gov. Josh Shapiro, right, is joined with Rep. Nikki Rivera, left, and Sen. James Malone as he speaks about Office of Vocational Rehabilitation’s “MY Work” program at Overlook Park in Manheim Township on Tuesday, August 5, 2025.
Blaine Shahan / LNP | LancasterOnline
Blaine Shahan / LNP | LancasterOnline
Gov. Josh Shapiro, right, is joined with Rep. Nikki Rivera, left, and Sen. James Malone as he speaks about Office of Vocational Rehabilitation’s “MY Work” program at Overlook Park in Manheim Township on Tuesday, August 5, 2025.
Gov. Josh Shapiro on Tuesday called on President Donald Trump’s administration to expand aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip, as increased reports of children facing starvation there continue to dominate much of the international debate on Israel’s war with Hamas.
“It is awful what is happening in Gaza, and we all have a responsibility to be there for those children,” Shapiro said, prompted by a reporter at an unrelated event in Manheim Township.
The first-term Democrat noted that Hamas — deemed a terrorist organization by the U.S. — “intercepts aid” intended for Gaza’s people, and he acknowledged the physical destruction caused by nearly two years of conflict has made distributing aid difficult.
Given those hurdles, Shapiro said the U.S. “has a moral responsibility to flood the zone with aid and make sure those children that need to be fed get the food and the nourishment and the medicines that they need to be able to survive this.”
The United Nations last week reported that “widespread starvation, malnutrition and disease” are leading to more hunger-related deaths in the region. Since April, hospitals have treated more than 20,000 children for acute malnutrition, according to the U.N. At least 16 children under the age of five have died from hunger-driven causes since mid-July.
Shapiro also stressed that Hamas must return the more than 50 hostages who remain in its captivity, the last of 250 taken when the organization’s fighters attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing more than 1,200 people..
“I think it is fair to say that I’m both praying for the return of the hostages and praying to make sure that these kids get fed in Gaza,” he said.
Shapiro, an observant Jew, faced backlash for his pro-Israel stance from some Democrats while he was being considered as a running mate to former Vice President Kamala Harris last year.
But Shapiro has not held back from criticizing the leadership of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since the ongoing war began. Last year, he called Netanyahu “one of the worst leaders of all time.”
Shapiro, widely considered a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, repeated that disapproval on Tuesday.
“I thought it was also quite abhorrent what Prime Minister Netanyahu said roughly a week or so ago when he said, ‘There is no starvation in Gaza.’“ Shapiro said. “He is wrong.”
That rhetoric from Netanyahu, Shapiro said, “only creates less stability and security for Israel, who is a critical ally of the United States.”
President Donald Trump, a longtime staunch ally of Israel, vowed last week to increase aid to Gaza, citing the “real starvation” he saw in images from the region. Trump’s comments came a few days after his administration announced that a ceasefire deal had fallen through.
Shapiro said if the Trump administration continues to negotiate directly with Hamas, then Trump “better be on the phone with Hamas trying to figure out how to get aid in there to the starving people, and not have Hamas intercept it.”
A collection of interviews, photos, and music videos, featuring local musicians who have stopped by the WITF performance studio to share a little discussion and sound. Produced by WITF’s Joe Ulrich.
