The United States will “take over” and “own” the Gaza Strip after “permanently” resettling Palestinians outside the besieged territory, President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday.

At a joint press briefing with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the White House, Trump reiterated his proposal that Palestinians living in Gaza should be placed in other countries in West Asia, including Jordan and Egypt, while the US developed the territory.

Trump’s statements came amid a ceasefire in Gaza. Netanyahu's visit to the White House came as talks begin on the second phase of the ceasefire plan for Gaza, CNBC reported.

More than 47,700 persons, including over 17,400 children, have been killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023, when Israel launched a military offensive against Gaza. This came after Hamas launched an incursion into southern Israel, killing 1,200 persons and taking more than 200 hostages. Israel retaliated by carrying out unprecedented air and ground strikes on Gaza. About 400 Israeli soldiers died in the conflict.

According to the latest figures by the United Nations, 92% or 4,36,000 housing units in Gaza have either been destroyed or damaged in the Israeli offensive. A total of 496 out of 546 schools have also either been partially or severely damaged, and only 17 out of 36 hospitals are partially functioning.

“This was not a decision made lightly,” said Trump. “Everybody I have spoken to loves the idea of the US owning that piece of land, developing and creating thousands of jobs with something that will be magnificent.”

Claiming that the US would ensure economic development in Gaza to “supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area”, Trump added that he envisioned his government taking a “long-term ownership position” over the enclave.

The president said that his government would also take on the responsibility of clearing destroyed buildings and dismantling “dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons” in the territory.

“I do not think people [Palestinians] should be going back,” the AP quoted Trump as saying. “You cannot live in Gaza right now. I think we need another location. I think it should be a location that’s going to make people happy.”

He added that he would turn Gaza into “the Riviera of the Middle East” where the “world’s people”, including Palestinians, would live.

When asked about the possibility of deploying US troops to fill any security vacuum in Gaza, the president said that his administration would do “what is necessary”

On his part, Netanyahu said that Trump’s suggestion of a US takeover of the Gaza Strip was a “worthwhile” pursuit.

“He [Trump] sees a different future for that piece of land that has been the focus of so much terrorism, so much, so many attacks against us, so many, so many trials and so many tribulations,” the prime minister added.

Earlier in January too, Trump had said that Jordan and Egypt should take in Palestinians from Gaza. The suggestion was rejected by the Palestinian militant group Hamas as well as by Jordan and Egypt.

The first six-week phase of the Gaza ceasefire began on January 19 and involves the exchange of 33 hostages for hundreds of Palestinian detainees.

Some hostages had been released in November 2023 as part of a brief ceasefire while some were killed.

On February 1, Hamas released three more hostages in exchange for Israel freeing 180 Palestinian prisoners in the fourth hostage swap under the ceasefire deal between both sides.

The agreement also allows hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to return to their neighbourhoods in Gaza. About 1.9 million people in Gaza have been displaced since October 2023, according to the UN’s Palestine refugee agency.

Negotiations for the second phase are scheduled to begin on the sixteenth day of the ceasefire and will aim for a “permanent end to the war”. It would also include the release of the remaining hostages, including men, in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

The second phase also entails the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. The third and final phase would include the reconstruction of Gaza and the return of any remaining bodies of slain hostages.