President Trump said Thursday that the US should be allowed to take control of the Gaza Strip and transform the war-torn enclave into a “freedom zone.”
Trump said his administration would get directly involved with the reconstruction of Gaza, which has seen nearly all its buildings damaged or collapsed since the war began following the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack.
“I have concepts for Gaza that I think are very good. Make it a freedom zone,” Trump said during a meeting in Doha, Qatar. “Let the United States get involved and make it just a freedom zone.”
“I’d be proud to have the United States have it, take it, make it a freedom zone,” he added without elaborating on the vision.
The president has previously touted a plan to clear out the nearly 2 million Palestinian refugees in Gaza so the US can take over the enclave and develop it into a Riviera, with Trump even posting AI-generated videos of himself at a future Gaza resort.
Trump has maintained that Palestinians can no longer live in the territory given the extent of the destruction, which an analysis earlier this year found that at about 70% of all infrastructure in Gaza is damaged or collapsed.
“I have aerial shots where, I mean, there’s practically no building standing,” Trump said of the devastation.
“It’s not like you’re trying to save something. There’s no building. People are living under the rubble of buildings that collapsed, which is not acceptable,” he added.
While Israel has touted Trump’s plan for Gaza, with the Jewish state pushing for its own occupation of the region, the vision has been slammed by allies in the Middle East who have repeatedly stated that they will not help house any Palestinian refugees.
Many Palestinians have also rejected the call to abandon their ruined homeland, but others who are tired of the war and destruction have expressed a willingness to leave.
The future of the area remains up in the air as little headway has been made in the cease-fire negotiations between Hamas and Israel since the terror group freed Israeli-American Edan Alexander on Monday.