American stance on Gaza follows G7 line

Ever since he had become president of the United States a second time on January 20, 2025, Donald Trump had been supporting Israel much more vehemently than his predecessor Joe Biden. Trump has been warning and threatening Hamas, and he had not said a word about the suffering of civilians in Gaza due to Israeli attacks there.

But on Friday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio joined other foreign ministers of G7 – Canada, Germany, France, Japan, Italy, United Kingdom – in calling for humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza and the need to protect them, apart from a call for an immediate ceasefire and the release of all hostages, Israeli as well as Palestinian.

There was also the mention of the two-state solution, something which Trump and his administration have been silent about. But the foreign ministers of the rich economies and democracies had reiterated that Hamas cannot have any role in the future governance of Gaza. It has been a stated position for quite some time, even as the United States had independently negotiated with Hamas on the release of an American with a dual citizenship – of Israel and America – and working with the Israeli army, and also of the bodies of Israeli-Americans among the hostages who had died.

There is also the contradiction that a ceasefire agreement can only happen between Hamas and Israel. It is indeed the case as well that the Fatah, which governs the West Bank and is in control of the Palestinian Authority, does not want Hamas as well. Fatah wants to take over the governance of Gaza. Unsurprisingly, Hamas is in charge of Gaza, and it is a party to the ceasefire mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the US. So getting Hamas out of the way is not going to be an easy thing.

But America signing the G7 foreign ministers’ joint statement is important because for the first time Trump takes into its purview the plight of the civilians in Gaza. The joint statement said, “We reiterate the absolute need for the civilian population to be protected and that there must be full, rapid, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access, as a matter of absolute priority.”

Trump’s focus has been on immediate ceasefire in Gaza as well as in Ukraine, and he is not too bothered about the long-term solution in both cases. Trump has some idea about the contours of a settlement between Ukraine and Russia, a position more tilted towards Russia. In Gaza, he has shown no awareness or concern about the Palestinians.

It is for this reason that the Americans signing the G7 joint statement becomes an important point. Trump is only too eager to break off with NATO, and with the European Union (EU), for more than one reason. But Trump seems to be aware that it would be a diplomatic blunder of parting company with the G7 countries. It is a club of the economically and politically privileged countries, and Trump wants to remain part of the group.

Of the six countries in the group, only Italy and Japan are supportive of Trump’s policies, economic and diplomatic. The others, which include Canada, Germany, France and the United Kingdom, are at loggerheads with Trump on many issues, especially about tariffs, and about propping up NATO.

Trump’s attitude towards G7 will become apparent only when he attends the summit meeting and what he will say when he interacts with other leaders in the group. He is sure to realise that America cannot stand alone in the world, and that it needs friends. The members other than Italy and Japan in the group assert their own foreign policy standpoint. So, Trump will have to tailor his stand to go with the group. There will be larger unanimity but he has to concede on matters of detail as well.