Did US Ambassador Huckabee admit to using starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza?

Social media users are accusing the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, of admitting that the US and Israel are using starvation as a "weapon" in Gaza. 

Last Friday, the head of World Health Organization’s eastern Mediterranean office, Dr Hanan Balkhy, urged Huckabee to force Israel to lift its aid blockade on Gaza.

Israel halted the entry of all humanitarian aid into Gaza in March, the second time its done so since its war on the enclave began.

"I would wish for him to go in and see the situation firsthand," she said.

The new ambassador to Israel – who served as governor of Arkansas and later as a Fox News commentator – published a video response to the WHO official on Monday, saying: "How about we put the pressure where it really belongs – on Hamas."

"We call upon Hamas to sign an agreement so that humanitarian aid can flow into Gaza to the people who desperately need it," Huckabee said.

"When that happens, and hostages are released – which is an urgent matter for all of us – then we hope that humanitarian aid will flow, and flow freely, knowing that it will be done without Hamas being able to confiscate and abuse their own people by not allowing those resources to get to the people who desperately need it."

US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said on X that the World Health Organisation contacted him so he could pressure the Israelis to allow aid into Gaza.

Huckabee said that pressure should be applied to Hamas instead pic.twitter.com/ag8J9HcXWo

— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) April 22, 2025

Last week, the head of the Hamas political bureau, Khalil al-Hayya, said that all remaining captives would be released from Gaza if Israel ended its war on the enclave.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu re-posted Huckabee’s video statement, adding: "Aid that goes to Hamas is not Humanitarian."  

Many online perceived this response as a "mask-off" moment for the US, which has repeatedly claimed to be against Israel's aid blockade.

“The masks are completely off now, no more bullshit,” writer Tariq Kenney-Shawa posted on X.

"Both Israel and the US are openly admitting that they’re using starvation as a tool of collective punishment against 2+ million people. It’s not every day that you get this level of transparency from war criminals."

Here you have it, folks: The US ambassador to Israel insists on a policy of starving children to death until Hamas complies with Israel's political demands.

This is the dictionary definition of terrorism.

I'd say shame on Mike Huckabee, but I don't think he knows what shame is. https://t.co/BuGyFnV9Dy

— Omar Baddar عمر بدّار (@OmarBaddar) April 21, 2025

UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese responded to Huckabee’s video on X quoting the article of the Rome Statute which states that "withholding humanitarian aid is a war crime." 

Human Rights Watch (HRW) and other rights groups have concluded that Israel has been deliberately starving Palestinians, with HRW stating that Israel has used "starvation as a weapon of war."

In which the US ambassador to Israel not only admits that Israel is using starvation as a weapon but endorses it. These are truly dark times. https://t.co/TbSo0mvqWR

— Khaled Elgindy (@elgindy_) April 21, 2025

Journalist Rula Jebreal posted that in addition to Huckabee “admitting that Israel is using hunger as a weapon”, his statement that the hostages being released is an “urgent matter” for Israel was contradicted just hours later by Israeli Minister Bezalel Smotrich. 

"We have to say the truth, returning the hostages is not the most important thing," Smotrich said in an interview with Galey Israel radio. 

Many online also pointed to Huckabee’s long history of being a Christian Zionist. He has denied the existence of Palestinians, settlements and an occupation. He also stated that he refuses to use the words “West Bank” because he refers to it as "Judea and Samaria." 

Mike Huckabee, a sick twisted depraved Christian Zionist waiting 4 the “rapture” is publicly confessing to war crimes by making humanitarian aid for civilians conditional. When the new Nuremberg Trials come, this will be Exhibit A to send Huckabee to The Hague. https://t.co/AeNOKxDu5e

— #StopCopCity (@ChuckModi1) April 22, 2025

"If you believe your religion tells you to support the butchery and starvation of the people of Gaza, then your religious beliefs are bad, and you should change them," journalist Caitlin Johnstone posted on X.