US officials defend Trump's call for Gaza relocation amid backlash

Ismael Mohammed (center), 47, and his family, who were displaced to the southern part of Gaza at Israel's order during the war, return to their destroyed house amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, January 28, 2025. Deir al-Balah is only 11 miles (around 18 km) from their Jabalia home, but cars, which must queue for hours at an Israeli checkpoint, are rare and expensive to hire and, like most families, the Mohammeds had to walk. "I haven't slept for the past three nights from joy. I long for my land, my town Jabalia, and the people of the north, to see our kin," said Ismael. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Previewing Trump's White House talks later on Tuesday (Feb 4) with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the senior officials sought to soften what was widely seen as Trump's call for mass displacement of Gazans from the enclave, which Arab states and Palestinian leaders have vehemently rejected.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, stressed that the US wants to work with its Arab partners and Israel to come up with creative solutions to the challenge.
The suggestion that Trump made last month echoed the wishes of Israel's far right and contradicted former President Joe Biden's commitment against mass resettlement of Palestinians.
“President Trump looks at the Gaza Strip and sees it as a demolition site, sees it as impractical for it to be rebuilt within three to five years, believes it will take at least 10 to 15 and thinks it is inhumane to force people to live in an uninhabitable plot of land with unexploded ordnances and rubble,” one senior official told reporters.
Trump “is looking for solutions to help the people of Gaza have normal lives while the Gaza Strip is being rebuilt, and he is trying to look at this in a realistic way,” the official added.
Five Arab foreign ministers and a senior Palestinian official sent a joint letter to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday opposing the idea of displacing Palestinians from Gaza. It was signed by Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as the Palestinian Authority,
Trump first floated the suggestion of Jordan and Egypt taking in Palestinians from Gaza shortly after his Jan. 20 inauguration. When asked if he was suggesting that as a long-term or short-term solution, the president said: "Could be either".
The latest Gaza conflict was set off on Oct 7, 2023, when Palestinian Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel's military has since levelled large swaths of Gaza, creating a humanitarian crisis, and killed over 47,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry which does not distinguish between combatants and non-combatants.