President Donald Trump said at a news conference the U.S. has a “long-term ownership position” in Gaza, the land at the center of Israel and Hamas’ war since October of 2023.
Gaza has suffered a sustained bombing campaign conducted by Israel as it targets Hamas militants and leaders. Those leaders carried out a terror attack on Oct. 7 of 2023 that killed hundreds of Israeli civilian and left many hostages, some of whom are still in captivity.
Large sections of Gaza have been reduced to rubble by the strikes, which have created a humanitarian crisis and raised questions about the future of the land and the Palestinians living there.
Trump told reporters at a different news conference Tuesday that he hoped for permanently resettling nearly 2 million Palestinians to somewhere nicer and safer, saying them remaining in Gaza would only lead to more violence. On Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described the resettlement as temporary while the Gaza Strip, which doesn’t have power or water, is rebuilt.
Trump has now suggested the U.S. would take control of Gaza and help rebuild it.
“I do see a long-term ownership position, and I do see bringing great stability to that part of the Middle East and maybe the entire Middle East,” Trump told reporters at a news conference alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Netanyahu is in the U.S. this week for a series of meetings with the president and top U.S. officials.
“Everybody I’ve spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land, developing it, creating thousands of jobs with something that will be magnificent in really a magnificent area that nobody would have known,” Trump said.
