President Trump is keeping his foreign policy focus on Russia and Ukraine as global outrage grows over Israel’s plans to launch a major new offensive in the Gaza Strip and a declaration of famine on Friday that underscored the catastrophic suffering of Palestinians.

Gaza City and surrounding areas are officially suffering from famine, and it will likely spread, a global hunger monitor determined on Friday, an assessment that will escalate pressure on Israel to allow more aid into the Palestinian territory.

"An entire population is being pushed into starvation, destitution, and death,” said Belgium's Deputy Prime Minister.

For an area to be experiencing famine, at least 30 percent of children under 5 must be considered acutely malnourished by height and weight measures. Using the arm circumference method, the I.P.C. said, the accepted threshold dropped to 15 percent.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that Gaza city could "turn into Rafah and Beit Hanoun" unless Hamas agrees to Israel's terms.

Conditions in Gaza City are expected to worsen and, while a ceasefire could come, so could a huge military assault.

Israel says "there is no famine in Gaza" after the IPC reports more than 500,000 people in the Strip are facing "starvation, destitution and death".