President Trump reiterates plans to take over Gaza Strip, turn it into ‘freedom zone’

U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated that he wants the United States to take responsibility for Gaza, after earlier comments that he wanted to end the Gaza War “as quickly as possible,” which would indicate support for a ceasefire deal leaving the Palestinian Authority in power over the enclave.

Speaking during the second leg of his Middle East visit in Qatar on Thursday, he said the U.S would “take” the Gaza Strip and make it into a “freedom zone.”

“We’re working very hard in Gaza. Gaza has been a territory of death and destruction,” he said.

In February, Trump cited the widespread devastation of the enclave as a reason to evacuate the population and rebuild the area, turning it into “the Riviera of the Middle East.”

“I have aerial shots where, I mean, there’s practically no building standing. It’s not like you’re trying to save something. There’s no building. People are living under the rubble of buildings that collapsed, which is not acceptable,” Trump said, according to the Agence France-Presse (AFP).

“I have concepts for Gaza that I think are very good, make it a freedom zone, let the United States get involved and make it just a freedom zone,” the president said, before reiterating: “I’d be proud to have the United States have it, take it, make it a freedom zone.”

After presenting his Gaza reconstruction proposal in February, the U.S. and Israel tried to find countries that would be willing to receive the around 2 million Gazans, but so far, to no avail.

In recent weeks, Trump has rarely mentioned the proposal. Earlier this week, Trump said the U.S. has “been working tirelessly to bring back all hostages held by Hamas,” adding, “We continue to work to get that war ended as quickly as possible.”

On Wednesday, reports indicated that the U.S. was now increasing the pressure on Israel to approve a ceasefire deal that would remove Hamas from power and possibly disarm it, but would still come short of its declared war goals of completely destroying Hamas.

Such a deal would also most likely render Trump’s Gaza plans obsolete.

However, Trump’s comments on Thursday suggest the president still intends to pursue his controversial proposal. Hamas is “going to have to be dealt with,” he said.

He also stressed that Oct. 7, 2023, was “one of the worst days in the history of the world, not only in this region,” calling it “one of the worst, most atrocious attacks anyone has ever seen.”