Trump declares US will ‘take over’ Gaza Strip, sparking widespread criticism

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Hello and welcome to our live coverage of developments in the Middle East after US president Donald Trump outlined an extraordinary proposal for the US to take “ownership” of Gaza.

In a joint press conference, Trump and Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, addressed reporters at the White House, where the US president announced his intention to take over the Gaza Strip, move Palestinians to neighbouring countries and redevelop the territory for occupation by “the world’s people”.

If you are just catching up with the latest, here is what you need to know:

Trump said the US will “take over” and “own” the Gaza Strip. The US president said he envisioned a “long-term” US ownership of the territory after all Palestinians were moved elsewhere. He did not explain how and under what authority the US can take over the land of Gaza. “We will own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site,” he said. He said the US would “level” destroyed buildings and “create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area.”
The Saudi government, in a statement, stressed its rejection of any attempt to displace Palestinians from their land and said it would not establish relations with Israel without establishment of a Palestinian state. Meanwhile Hamas condemned Trump’s calls for Palestinians in Gaza to leave as “expulsion from their land”. The Palestinian envoy to the United Nations said that world leaders and people should respect Palestinians’ desire to remain in Gaza.
Several Democrats slammed Trump’s plan with Democratic senator Chris Murphy saying of Trump: “He’s totally lost it.” “A US invasion of Gaza would lead to the slaughter of thousands of US troops and decades of war in the Middle East. It’s like a bad, sick joke.” Democratic representative Jake Auchincloss described the proposal as “reckless and unreasonable” and called for an examination of Trump’s motives, which he said often contained a “nepotistic, self-serving connection”.
Some Republicans have derided the proposal. Justin Amash, a former Republican member of Congress whose father was expelled from his home by Israeli forces in 1948, was appalled. “If the United States deploys troops to forcibly remove Muslims and Christians – like my cousins – from Gaza, then not only will the US be mired in another reckless occupation but it will also be guilty of the crime of ethnic cleansing. No American of good conscience should stand for this.”
The US president called Gaza a “symbol of death and destruction” and that the only reason people want to go back there is because they have nowhere else to go. The 1.8 million Palestinians living in Gaza should move to neighbouring countries with “humanitarian hearts” and “great wealth”, Trump said. Earlier he had called for Jordan, Egypt and other Arab states to take in Palestinians. He said they could be split up across a number of separate sites. Forced displacement of the population would probably be a violation of international law and would be fiercely opposed not only in the region but also by Washington’s western allies. Some human rights advocates liken the idea to ethnic cleansing.
He went on to say that Gaza could become “the Riviera of the Middle East” where “the world’s people” could live there, echoing the previous sentiments of his son-in-law Jared Kushner, who said Gaza had very valuable “waterfront property”.
Trump gave a vague answer when asked a question on whether he supported a two-state solution. Asked if his view that Palestinians should be relocated from Gaza was a sign that he was against the two-state policy that has been the foreign policy approach of the United States for decades, Trump said no. “It doesn’t mean anything about a two-state or one state or any other state. It means that we want to have, we want to give people a chance at life,” he said. “They have never had a chance at life because the Gaza Strip has been a hellhole for people living there. It’s been horrible.”
Trump claimed high-level support among unnamed leaders he had spoken to. “This is not a decision made lightly,” he said, adding that “everybody I’ve spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land.” He said the move would bring “great stability to that part of the Middle East”.
Trump did not rule out sending US troops to secure Gaza. “As far as Gaza is concerned, we’ll do what is necessary. If it’s necessary, we’ll do that,” he said. On Trump’s idea of taking over Gaza, Netanyahu said the US president “sees a different future for Gaza”, adding: “I think it’s something that could change history.”
Trump said he would probably announce a position on Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank in the next month. “We haven’t been taking the position on it yet,” he said. Trump added that he planned to visit the Gaza Strip, Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Netanyahu described Trump as “the greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White House”. The Israeli leader said “we have to finish the job in Gaza”, and said “Israel will end the war by winning the war.” Netanyahu praised Trump for “thinking outside the box with fresh ideas” and “showing willingness to puncture conventional thinking”.

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Iran’s foreign policy is driven by the “principles of dignity, wisdom and interest”, government spokesperson, Fatemeh Mohajerani, said on Wednesday, in response to US president Donald Trump saying that Washington would contact Tehran.

If you are just tuning into today’s developments and Trump’s extraordinary remarks about the US setting its sights on Gaza, here is what you need to know to quickly bring you up to speed.

Trump has declared that the US will ‘take over’ the Gaza Strip, and that he envisioned a “long-term” US ownership of the territory after all Palestinians were moved elsewhere. Gaza, he said, could be transformed into the ‘Riviera of the Middle East’. The US president did not explain how and under what authority the US could assume control of Gaza. “We will own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site,” he said. He said the US would “level” destroyed buildings and “create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area.”
The Saudi government, in a statement, stressed its rejection of any attempt to displace Palestinians from their land and said it would not establish relations with Israel without establishment of a Palestinian state. Meanwhile Hamas condemned Trump’s calls for Palestinians in Gaza to leave as “expulsion from their land”. One Hamas figure described the remarks as ‘absurd’ and ‘ridiculous’, while the Palestinian envoy to the United Nations said that world leaders and people should respect Palestinians’ desire to remain in Gaza.
Several Democrats slammed Trump’s plan with Democratic senator Chris Murphy saying of Trump: “He’s totally lost it.” Democratic representative Jake Auchincloss described the proposal as “reckless and unreasonable” and called for an examination of Trump’s motives, which he said often contained a “nepotistic, self-serving connection”.
Some Republicans have also derided the proposal. Justin Amash, a former Republican member of Congress whose father was expelled from his home by Israeli forces in 1948, was appalled. “If the United States deploys troops to forcibly remove Muslims and Christians – like my cousins – from Gaza, then not only will the US be mired in another reckless occupation but it will also be guilty of the crime of ethnic cleansing. No American of good conscience should stand for this.”
The US president called Gaza a “symbol of death and destruction” and that the only reason people want to go back there is because they have nowhere else to go. The 1.8 million Palestinians living in Gaza should move to neighbouring countries with “humanitarian hearts” and “great wealth”, Trump said. Earlier he had called for Jordan, Egypt and other Arab states to take in Palestinians. He said they could be split up across a number of separate sites. Forced displacement of the population would probably be a violation of international law and would be fiercely opposed not only in the region but also by Washington’s western allies. Some human rights advocates liken the idea to ethnic cleansing.
He went on to say that Gaza could become “the Riviera of the Middle East” where “the world’s people” could live there, echoing the previous sentiments of his son-in-law Jared Kushner, who said Gaza had very valuable “waterfront property”.
Trump gave a vague answer when asked a question on whether he supported a two-state solution. Asked if his view that Palestinians should be relocated from Gaza was a sign that he was against the two-state policy that has been the foreign policy approach of the United States for decades, Trump said no. “It doesn’t mean anything about a two-state or one state or any other state. It means that we want to have, we want to give people a chance at life,” he said. “They have never had a chance at life because the Gaza Strip has been a hellhole for people living there. It’s been horrible.”
Trump claimed high-level support among unnamed leaders he had spoken to. “This is not a decision made lightly,” he said, adding that “everybody I’ve spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land.” He said the move would bring “great stability to that part of the Middle East”.
Trump did not rule out sending US troops to secure Gaza. “As far as Gaza is concerned, we’ll do what is necessary. If it’s necessary, we’ll do that,” he said. On Trump’s idea of taking over Gaza, Netanyahu said the US president “sees a different future for Gaza”, adding: “I think it’s something that could change history.”
Trump said he would probably announce a position on Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank in the next month. “We haven’t been taking the position on it yet,” he said. Trump added that he planned to visit the Gaza Strip, Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Netanyahu described Trump as “the greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White House”. The Israeli leader said “we have to finish the job in Gaza”, and said “Israel will end the war by winning the war.” Netanyahu praised Trump for “thinking outside the box with fresh ideas” and “showing willingness to puncture conventional thinking”.

The Guardian’s David Smith has put together this sketch of the mood in the White House today.

“The venerable East Room, where Abraham Lincoln lay in state and Pablo Casals played cello, had turned into a mosh pit. Sweaty reporters, photographers and camera crews were crammed elbow to elbow. The Guardian shoehorned its way into a corner where a panel had fallen off the wall. Never used to happened in Joe Biden’s day.

The president began by boasting about how he got a “beautiful” US embassy built in Jerusalem, ranting about his predecessor and giving a shout out to his staff. So far, so Trump. But then things turned weird. Very weird.”

Read his first-person account of the day below:

US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff tells Fox News that Trump’s Gaza plans would give Palestinians “more hope” for a better future.

Speaking to host Sean Hannity, Witkoff said Gaza would probably be “inhabitable” for the next 10-15 years.

“Everybody wants to see peace in the region… A better life is not necessarily tied to the physical space that you’re in today. A better life is about better opportunity, better financial conditions, better aspirations for you and your family.

“That doesn’t occur because you get to pitch a tent in the Gaza Strip and you’re surrounded by 30,000 munitions that could go off at any moment. It’s a dangerous place to live today and the president is saying, ‘let’s make it better for these people.’”

“Donald, this looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship,” the Israeli far-right politician wrote on X after Trump’s shock remarks.

Helen Sullivan

Trump’s comments on Tuesday were not the first time he has suggested turning the home of 1.8 million Palestinians into a business opportunity for developers.

They echo comments he made during his presidential campaign, and that is his son in law and former White House adviser, Jared Kushner, made in March last year.

Kushner praised the “very valuable” potential of Gaza’s “waterfront property” and suggested Israel should remove civilians while it “cleans up” the strip. The Guardian’s Patrick Wintour reported the comments on 19 March 2024.

Trump repeated the sentiments while campaigning in late 2024. On 7 October 2024, the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel, Trump told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, “They’d have, there was no ocean as far as that was concerned. They never took advantage of it. You know, as a developer, it could be the most beautiful place – the weather, the water, the whole thing, the climate.”

Hewitt had asked Trump if Gaza “could be Monaco” and Trump said it could be “better than Monaco”.

Bernie Sanders warned undecided voters in October, saying, “Trump has said Netanyahu is doing a good job and has said Biden is ‘holding him back.’ He has suggested that the Gaza Strip would make excellent beachfront property for development. And it is no wonder than Netanyahu prefers to have Donald Trump in office.”

Kushner, a former property dealer who is married to Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka, made his comments in an interview at Harvard University on 15 February 2024.

Kushner said at the time that he thought Israel should move civilians from Gaza to the Negev desert in southern Israel. He said that if he were in charge of Israel his number one priority would be getting civilians out of the southern city of Rafah, and that “with diplomacy” it could be possible to get them into Egypt.

“But in addition to that, I would just bulldoze something in the Negev, I would try to move people in there,” he said. “I think that’s a better option, so you can go in and finish the job.”

He reiterated the point a little later, saying: “I do think right now opening up the Negev, creating a secure area there, moving the civilians out, and then going in and finishing the job would be the right move.”

Saudi Arabia said it would not establish ties with Israel without the creation of a Palestinian state, contradicting President Donald Trump’s claim that Riyadh was not demanding a Palestinian homeland when he said the US wants to take over the Gaza Strip.

Saudi Arabia rejects any attempts to displace the Palestinians from their land, Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that its stance towards the Palestinians is not negotiable.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has affirmed the kingdom’s position in ‘a clear and explicit manner’ that does not allow for any interpretation under any circumstances, the statement said.

Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, says his government continues to support a two-state solution in the Middle East, “where both Israelis and Palestinians could live in peace and security.”

“We’ve supported a ceasefire, we’ve supported hostages being released and we’ve supported aid getting into Gaza,” he told reporters Wednesday in Canberra when asked about Trump’s remarks. “That is consistent with what Australia governments have always done, which is to provide support.”

Albanese did not directly respond to reporters’ questions about how he would characterise Trump’s Gaza plan.

“I’m not going to have a running commentary on statements by the president of the United States,” he said. “I’ve made that very clear.”

Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said on Wednesday that US President Donald Trump’s remarks about taking over the Gaza Strip were ‘ridiculous’ and ‘absurd’.

“Trump’s remarks about his desire to control Gaza are ridiculous and absurd, and any ideas of this kind are capable of igniting the region,” Abu Zuhri told Reuters.

In the first phase of the ceasefire, Palestinians in Gaza have been able to return home in recent weeks, many to buildings and homes now in ruins.

A UN damage assessment released last month showed that clearing more than 50 million tonnes of rubble left in the aftermath of Israel’s bombardment could take 21 years and cost up to $1.2 billion, Reuters reports.

The debris is believed to be contaminated with asbestos, with some refugee camps struck during the war known to have been built with the material. The rubble also likely holds human remains. The Palestinian health ministry estimates that 10,000 bodies are missing under the debris.

A United Nations Development Programme official said in January that development in Gaza has been set back by 69 years as a result of the conflict.

Buildings lie in ruin, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, January 30, 2025. Photograph: Dawoud Abu Alkas/Reuters

How long would it take to rebuild Gaza?

Rebuilding Gaza’s shattered homes will take at least until 2040, but could drag on for many decades, according to a UN report released last year.

Two-thirds of Gaza’s pre-war structures – over 170,000 buildings – have been damaged or flattened, according to UN satellite data (UNOSAT) in December. That amounts to around 69% of the total structures in the Gaza Strip.

The Great Omari Mosque, damaged during the Israeli-Hamas conflict, amidst a ceasefire in the Old City of Gaza, Gaza Strip, 31 January 2025. Photograph: Mohammed Saber/EPA

What is the extent of infrastructure damage?

The estimated damage to infrastructure totalled $18.5 billion as of end-January 2024, affecting residential buildings, commerce, industry, and essential services such as education, health, and energy, a UN-World Bank report said. An update by the UN humanitarian office in January showed that less than a quarter of the pre-war water supplies were available, while at least 68% of the road network has been damaged.

Palestinian data shows that the conflict has led to the destruction of over 200 government facilities, 136 schools and universities, 823 mosques and three churches. Many hospitals have been damaged during the conflict, with only 17 out of 36 units partially functional as of January, the UN humanitarian office’s report showed.

Naseem (right), 22, Abdulrahman (left), 8, and Mohammed, 5, who were displaced with their family to the southern part of Gaza at Israel’s order during the war, search for their belongings amongst the rubble of their destroyed house, after returning to it amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip, January 30, 2025. Photograph: Dawoud Abu Alkas/Reuters

Trump offered almost no specifics on his extraordinary proposal to “take ownership” of Gaza, and dodged questions on the legality of the US to carry out that plan.

Prior to his meeting with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Amnesty international criticised the US leader on another matter of international law.

Amnesty said the US was “showing contempt for international justice” by failing to arrest Netanyahu, despite the international criminal court issuing a warrant for his arrest in November last year.

Netanyahu is wanted by the ICC to face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

In a series of posts on X, Amnesty wrote:

“By welcoming Israeli PM Netanyahu, wanted by the ICC to face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, the United States is showing contempt for international justice.

“Complying with ICC arrest warrants & pursuing accountability in domestic courts is crucial to bring to justice those responsible for Israel’s genocide in Gaza and the continued dispossession and oppression of Palestinians under Israel’s unlawful occupation and system of apartheid.”

It’s only weeks into US president Donald Trump’s second term but his Gaza proposal is not the first time Trump has issued off-piste and expansionist declarations.

As the Guardian’s David Smith writes, Trump previously threatened Greenland and Panama and suggested that Canada should become the 51st state. Gaza is the latest on his list.

Read his full report on today’s events below:

“Gaza MUST BE FREE from Hamas,” Rubio wrote in a post on X, “As @POTUS shared today, the United States stands ready to lead and Make Gaza Beautiful Again. Our pursuit is one of lasting peace in the region for all people.”

US secretary of state Marco Rubio speaks during a joint press conference with Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves (not pictured) at the presidential palace in San Jose, Costa Rica, Feb. 4, 2025. M Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein/Reuters

Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib has joined a chorus of criticism from US Democrats of Trump’s plan to resettle Palestinians outside of Gaza, likening the proposal to “ethnic cleansing”.

“This president is openly calling for ethnic cleansing while sitting next to a genocidal war criminal,” Tlaib, said in a post on X.

“He’s perfectly fine cutting off working Americans from federal funds while the funding to the Israeli government continues flowing.”

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered outside the White House as US president Donald Trump met with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The demonstrations occurred as Trump delivered his shock proposal to “take ownership” of Gaza, suggesting it had the potential to become the “Riviera of the Middle East.”

Pro-Palestine protesters, including American Anti-Zionist Orthodox Jews, demonstrate in front of the White House as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump met inside on February 4, 2025 in Washington, DC. Photograph: Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images

Among those protesting were anti-Zionist orthodox Jews.

Orthodox Jews, demonstrate in front of the White House as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump met inside on February 4, 2025 in Washington, DC. Photograph: Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images

US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff previously told Axios that Gaza will probably be uninhabitable for 10-15 years.

“What was inescapable is that there is almost nothing left of Gaza,” Witkoff told Axios after returning from his recent trip to the Middle East.

“People are moving north to get back to their homes and see what happened and turn around and leave … there is no water and no electricity. It is stunning just how much damage occurred there,” he said.

Witkoff, a real estate developer, described what he saw from a helicopter flight over Gaza.

Palestinians walk along a street in Gaza City, littered with rubble from buildings destroyed during the Israeli army’s ground and air offensive against Hamas in Gaza City, Tuesday Feb. 4, 2025. Photograph: Abdel Kareem Hana/AP

“There has been this perception we can get to a solid plan for Gaza in five years,” he told Axios, “But its impossible. This is a 10 to 15 year rebuilding plan,” he said.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of developments in the Middle East after US president Donald Trump outlined an extraordinary proposal for the US to take “ownership” of Gaza.

If you are just catching up with the latest, here is what you need to know:

Trump said the US will “take over” and “own” the Gaza Strip. The US president said he envisioned a “long-term” US ownership of the territory after all Palestinians were moved elsewhere. He did not explain how and under what authority the US can take over the land of Gaza. “We will own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site,” he said. He said the US would “level” destroyed buildings and “create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area.”
The Saudi government, in a statement, stressed its rejection of any attempt to displace Palestinians from their land and said it would not establish relations with Israel without establishment of a Palestinian state. Meanwhile Hamas condemned Trump’s calls for Palestinians in Gaza to leave as “expulsion from their land”. The Palestinian envoy to the United Nations said that world leaders and people should respect Palestinians’ desire to remain in Gaza.
Several Democrats slammed Trump’s plan with Democratic senator Chris Murphy saying of Trump: “He’s totally lost it.” “A US invasion of Gaza would lead to the slaughter of thousands of US troops and decades of war in the Middle East. It’s like a bad, sick joke.” Democratic representative Jake Auchincloss described the proposal as “reckless and unreasonable” and called for an examination of Trump’s motives, which he said often contained a “nepotistic, self-serving connection”.
Some Republicans have derided the proposal. Justin Amash, a former Republican member of Congress whose father was expelled from his home by Israeli forces in 1948, was appalled. “If the United States deploys troops to forcibly remove Muslims and Christians – like my cousins – from Gaza, then not only will the US be mired in another reckless occupation but it will also be guilty of the crime of ethnic cleansing. No American of good conscience should stand for this.”
The US president called Gaza a “symbol of death and destruction” and that the only reason people want to go back there is because they have nowhere else to go. The 1.8 million Palestinians living in Gaza should move to neighbouring countries with “humanitarian hearts” and “great wealth”, Trump said. Earlier he had called for Jordan, Egypt and other Arab states to take in Palestinians. He said they could be split up across a number of separate sites. Forced displacement of the population would probably be a violation of international law and would be fiercely opposed not only in the region but also by Washington’s western allies. Some human rights advocates liken the idea to ethnic cleansing.
He went on to say that Gaza could become “the Riviera of the Middle East” where “the world’s people” could live there, echoing the previous sentiments of his son-in-law Jared Kushner, who said Gaza had very valuable “waterfront property”.
Trump gave a vague answer when asked a question on whether he supported a two-state solution. Asked if his view that Palestinians should be relocated from Gaza was a sign that he was against the two-state policy that has been the foreign policy approach of the United States for decades, Trump said no. “It doesn’t mean anything about a two-state or one state or any other state. It means that we want to have, we want to give people a chance at life,” he said. “They have never had a chance at life because the Gaza Strip has been a hellhole for people living there. It’s been horrible.”
Trump claimed high-level support among unnamed leaders he had spoken to. “This is not a decision made lightly,” he said, adding that “everybody I’ve spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land.” He said the move would bring “great stability to that part of the Middle East”.
Trump did not rule out sending US troops to secure Gaza. “As far as Gaza is concerned, we’ll do what is necessary. If it’s necessary, we’ll do that,” he said. On Trump’s idea of taking over Gaza, Netanyahu said the US president “sees a different future for Gaza”, adding: “I think it’s something that could change history.”
Trump said he would probably announce a position on Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank in the next month. “We haven’t been taking the position on it yet,” he said. Trump added that he planned to visit the Gaza Strip, Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Netanyahu described Trump as “the greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White House”. The Israeli leader said “we have to finish the job in Gaza”, and said “Israel will end the war by winning the war.” Netanyahu praised Trump for “thinking outside the box with fresh ideas” and “showing willingness to puncture conventional thinking”.

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Trump declares US will ‘take over’ Gaza Strip, sparking widespread criticism – live

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