Israel is considering plans to send Gazans to Puntland, an autonomous region of Somalia, after Donald Trump’s pledge to resettle them in “far safer and more beautiful” communities.

On Thursday, Israel Katz, Israel’s foreign minister, ordered the IDF to prepare for the “voluntary” emigration of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, including “special arrangements” for sea and air departures.

Mr Trump doubled down on his proposal for the United States to occupy and rebuild Gaza, despite White House officials attempting to soften the move.

The president said no US soldiers would be needed to turn Gaza into “one of the greatest and most spectacular developments of its kind on earth”, while Palestinians would move to “new and modern homes in the region”.

Despite fierce international resistance, Mr Trump’s remarks have galvanised long-standing Israeli hopes to remove Gazans from the stretch of coastal land they have occupied for centuries.

Neighbouring Egypt and Jordan have refused to host any of the two million citizens left in the devastated Strip, saying the move would fatally undermine the creation of a Palestinian state.