In a surprising announcement that has sent shockwaves around the world , US President Donald Trump said the United States ‘will take over’ the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, ‘own it’ and undertake economic development there that will create ‘unlimited numbers of jobs and housing’.
According to PTI , Trump made these remarks on Tuesday during a joint press conference in the White House with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu standing beside him.
Trump also suggested that the US develop the land but gave no details on who would be allowed to live there.
He also said that all Palestinians currently living in Gaza — around 2 million people — should leave and be placed in other countries in the Middle East.
“The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too. We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site, and get rid of the destroyed buildings,” Trump said.
“Create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area, do a real job, do something different,” he said.
“The only reason the Palestinians want to go back to Gaza is they have no alternative. It’s right now a demolition site. This is just a demolition site. Virtually every building is down. They’re living under fallen concrete that’s very dangerous and very precarious. They instead can occupy all of a beautiful area with homes and safety, and they can live out their lives in peace and harmony, instead of having to go back and do it again,” Trump said.
Asked about the possibility of sending US troops to Gaza, Trump said the US would ‘do what is necessary’ as he laid out plans for the US to take the area over, and suggested he would visit the territory.
Gaza has been decimated during a war with its neighbour Israel, which began with the October 7, 2023, attack by the terror group Hamas.
Calling the Gaza Strip a ‘symbol of death and destruction’ and a ‘hell hole right now’, Trump said it is ‘so bad for the people anywhere near it, and especially those who live there… It’s been very unlucky. It’s been an unlucky place for a long time’.
