Trump Says the U.S. Will Take Over the Gaza Strip
President Donald Trump met with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House in Washington, D.C., on February 4, 2025, and the two leaders then held a joint news conference in the East Room. Netanyahu was the first foreign leader to visit the White House in Trump's second term. At the news conference, Trump said: "The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip."
Trump said the United States would own the Gaza Strip and would be responsible for dismantling dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons there, leveling the site and getting rid of the destroyed buildings. He said the United States would "create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area," develop Gaza, and create thousands of jobs.
Trump argued that Gaza's roughly 1.8 million Palestinians should not go back to a Gaza that lay in ruins, and that countries willing to do so should instead provide land to resettle them. He named Jordan, Egypt, and other countries in the region as potential participants in such an arrangement. Jordan and Egypt had previously said they rejected resettlement arrangements of this kind.
Asked whether the United States would send troops to fill a security vacuum in Gaza, Trump said, "If it's necessary, we'll do that," and did not rule out deploying troops. He also said he would visit Israel, Gaza, and Saudi Arabia.
Earlier that day in the Oval Office, Trump had called Gaza a "demolition site" and said it could one day become the "Riviera of the Middle East."
Speaking at the news conference, Netanyahu said Israel had three goals in Gaza: to free all the hostages, to destroy Hamas's military and governing capabilities, and to make sure Gaza no longer posed a threat to Israel. He said Trump had taken the ideas "to a much higher level" and that they were worth paying attention to.
At the time of the news conference, the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas had taken effect on January 19, 2025, and the two sides were awaiting negotiations on a second phase. Before the news conference, Trump had said there was "no guarantee" the ceasefire would hold.
(Source: The White House)
Source: The White House
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：2025年2月4日，特朗普与内塔尼亚胡在白宫椭圆形办公室会晤（白宫官方照片，公共领域）。 / Photo: President Trump meets Prime Minister Netanyahu in the Oval Office at the White House on February 4, 2025 (White House photo, public domain).
