Donald Trump says the US will ‘take over’ the Gaza Strip and ‘level it’ in talks with Netanyahu

Donald Trump has revealed a radical plan for the US to own Gaza – suggesting removing “all” Palestinians living there – after a meeting with Israel’s PM. Follow updates.

Palestinians left homeless by the war in Gaza should be permanently resettled outside of the devastated territory, Donald Trump has declared, suggesting the US should own Gaza instead in a shock intervention that rocked the Middle East and sparked protests outside the White House.

The US President even mused that American troops could be sent in as part of a “long-term ownership position” to redevelop the “hellhole”, saying: “If it’s necessary, we’ll do that.”

Mr Trump, meeting his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu for the first time since his return to power, declared “the Gaza thing has not worked” and that Palestinians “should get a good, fresh, beautiful piece of land”.

US President Donald Trump listens to Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a press conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC. Picture: AFP

Donald Trump declared Palestinians should be removed from Gaza. Picture: AFP

Benjamin Netanyahu said Donald Trump’s idea to relocate Palestinians “could change history”. Picture: AFP

US President Donald Trump was swamped with questions about this Gaza plan with one reporter asking if he is actually allowed to take over Gaza. Picture: AFP

“I don’t think people should be going back to Gaza. I think Gaza has been very unlucky for them,” the President told reporters in the Oval Office.

“Gaza is not a place for people to be living,” he added, suggesting instead that Palestinians should be resettled “permanently in nice homes and where they can be happy and not be shot and not be killed and not be knifed to death”.

An activist dressed as the Statue of Liberty is pulled in shackles in support of Palestinians near the White House. Picture: AFP

Activists wave Palestinian flags near a large effigy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as they rally in support of Palestinians near the White House. Picture: AFP

A protester holds up a poster with an image of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as they rally in support of Palestinians. Picture: AFP

People protest the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the US holding flags and various banners in the streets of Washington. Picture: Getty Images

As Mr Trump and Mr Netanyahu discussed the status of the ceasefire in the region, secured after 15 months of fighting sparked by Hamas’s October 7 invasion of Israel, the President complained that he deserved the Nobel Peace Prize for bringing the fighting to an end.

“It’s too bad. I deserve it, but they will never give it to me,” he said.

US President Donald Trump meets with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC. Picture: AFP

US President Donald Trump (C) and Vice President JD Vance (R) meet with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC. Picture: AFP

Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump discussed the status of the ceasefire in the region. Picture: AFP

The two leaders were due to have dinner with their wives after the presser. Picture: AP

But his post-war plan for Gaza – the home of 2.2 million people – was at odds with the wishes of the Arab world after a decades-long struggle over the enclave.

Mr Trump had recently pushed for Egypt and Jordan to take in large numbers of Palestinian refugees, an idea rejected by both of Israel’s neighbours.

Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said the President’s suggestion of a permanent alternative homeland was “a recipe for creating chaos and tension in the region.”

“Our people in Gaza will not allow for these plans to come to pass,” he said.

“What is needed is the end of the occupation and the aggression against our people, not expelling them from their land.”

US President Donald Trump greets Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he arrives at the North Portico of the White House in Washington, DC. Picture: AFP

Mr Trump has claimed credit for securing the pause in hostilities in Gaza. Picture: AFP

Mr Netanyahu received a warm welcome on arrival at the North Portico of the White House in Washington, DC. Picture: AFP

But Mr Trump doubled down at a later press conference, saying Palestinians in Gaza had a “miserable existence” and that their homeland “should not go through a process of rebuilding and occupation by the same people”.

“The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it too. We’ll own it,” he said, declaring Palestinian control would “never work” and the war-torn enclave could instead be “the Riviera of the Middle East”.

Mr Netanyahu said of the President’s proposal: “I think it’s something that could change history … It’s worthwhile really pursuing this avenue.”

The creation of a Palestinian state has been a key demand of Saudi Arabia as part of talks to normalise relations with Israel in a diplomatic power play that would weaken Iran.

Mr Trump was vague when asked how Saudi Arabia would respond to his suggestion to move Palestinians out of what he called a “demolition site”, saying: “They are demanding one thing. You know what it is? Peace.”

The President’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff earlier told reporters it was “preposterous” to suggest to Palestinians that “they might be back in five years”, given the scale of the rebuilding effort required after the war.

Mr Netanyahu praised Mr Trump’s return, saying he brought “fresh thinking” and could “help enormously”, as he hinted at the tension in his relationship with former president Joe Biden.

Mr Trump also signed an executive order to reimpose his “maximum pressure” policy on Iran from his first term, as he revealed he had “left instructions” to destroy Iran if it assassinated him, having tried during last year’s presidential election campaign.

“If they did that, they would be obliterated. That would be the end,” the President said.

He also withdrew US support for the United Nations relief agency in Gaza.

Originally published as Donald Trump says the US will ‘take over’ the Gaza Strip and ‘level it’ in talks with Netanyahu