US President Trump has doubled down on his call to transform Gaza from a devastated wartorn territory to "a big real estate site" that, ultimately, the US will own.
"Think of it as a big real estate site, and the United States is going to own it," he said, declaring that the US was in "no rush" to develop it; the President was certain he could "bring stability to the Middle East" by transforming the Gaza strip over his new term.
"A tremendous problem – the Gaza strip", he stated. "We'll own it. It's totally demolished right now. It's a demolition site. It'll be reclaimed. It'll be levelled out and fixed up. There won't be anybody there. Hamas won't be there."
Trump spoke of the territory, which his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said would take 10-15 years to rebuild, in a utopian manner, declaring that other "rich countries in the Middle East" would be allowed to wade in and claim a stake in Gaza.
For the roughly 1.9 million displaced Gazans who have been devastated by Israel's war - sparked after Hamas killed around 1,200 people on 7 October 2023, Trump said he was committed to "building some beautiful sites for the Palestinians to live in", adding that his takeover would lead to them "living in harmony and peace probably for the first time in hundreds of years."
While Trump did not state which other Middle Eastern counterparts would be involved with "rebuilding" Gaza, he declared the territory could be monopolized with other countries taking responsibility for the reconstruction in different areas.
