President Trump said on Tuesday that more food was urgently needed in Gaza, but added that he trusted Israeli officials to handle the distribution of aid despite the intense criticism they have faced over the humanitarian crisis unfolding there.

Mr. Trump, speaking to reporters on Air Force One on his way back to the United States after a four-day trip to Scotland, said he expected additional food distribution centers to be set up in Gaza “very soon, very soon,” but it was unclear what, if any, role the United States would play. While Mr. Trump recently broke with Israeli leaders by acknowledging a starvation crisis in Gaza, he said he still believed they should be in charge.

“We’re going to be dealing with Israel, and we think they can do a good job of it,” Mr. Trump said. “They want to preside over the food centers to make sure the distribution is proper.”

For months, Mr. Trump largely deflected questions about hunger in Gaza, but he changed course on Monday.

Before a meeting with Britain’s prime minister in Scotland, Mr. Trump said he did not “particularly” agree with a recent assertion by Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, that there was no starvation in Gaza. And although he repeated familiar complaints about not getting enough thanks for the aid the U.S. has supplied and echoed Israel’s dubious claim that Hamas routinely steals it, he said there was “real starvation” in Gaza and talked about the dire conditions facing children there.

The next day, Mr. Trump again raised the plight of children in Gaza, where a United Nations-backed food security group said on Tuesday that “the worst-case scenario of famine” was playing out because of severe aid restrictions imposed by Israel.