By Nandita Bose and Kanishka Singh
On board Air Force One (Reuters) -US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Jordan and Egypt should take more Palestinians out of Gaza, where Israel’s military assault has created a dire humanitarian situation and killed tens of thousands .
Asked whether this was a temporary or long-term proposal, Trump said: “It could be either.”
Washington said last year that it opposed the violent expulsion of Palestinians. Rights groups and humanitarian agencies have raised concerns for months about the situation in Gaza, with the war displacing almost the entire population and leading to a hunger crisis.
Washington has also been criticized for backing Israel but has maintained support for its ally, saying it helps Israel defend itself against Iran-based militant groups, such as Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen.
“I said to him, I would love you to accept more, because I’m looking at the whole Gaza Strip and it’s a mess, it’s a real mess. I want him to take people with him,” he said on January 20 about his call Saturday with Jordan’s King Abdullah.
“I want Egypt to take people,” Trump told reporters, adding he would speak with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday.
“You’re talking about a million and a half people, and we just clean the whole thing,” Trump said.
The population in the Palestinian enclave before the start of the Israel-Gaza war was around 2.3 million.
Gaza is a “cancellation site”
“It’s literally a demolition site, almost everything is being torn down and people are dying there, so I would rather engage with some of the Arab nations and build housing in another place where they can potentially live in peace for change,” Trump” said.
The latest bloodshed in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered on October 7, 2023, when Palestinian militants Hamas attacked Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages, according to Israeli heights.
Israel’s subsequent military assault on Gaza killed more than 47,000 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, and led to allegations of genocide and war crimes, which Israel denies.
A week ago, a ceasefire came into effect and led to the release of some Israeli hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
