Israel’s defence minister has ordered the military to prepare for “voluntary” departures from the Gaza Strip after Donald Trump unveiled plans to move Palestinians out of the territory.
Israel Katz, the country’s defence minister, said he welcomed Mr Trump’s “bold plan” to resettle Palestinians in other areas of the Middle East despite global condemnation.
"Gaza residents should be allowed the freedom to leave and emigrate, as is the norm around the world," he wrote on on X.
Mr Katz said his plan would include exit options via land crossings, as well as special arrangements for departure by sea and air.
There were no immediate signs of such preparations on the ground.
The US President sparked fury on Tuesday after saying he aimed to take over and develop the Gaza Strip into the “Riviera of the Middle East”.
Regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia rebuffed the proposal outright and Jordan's King Abdullah, who will meet Mr Trump at the White House next week, said on Wednesday he rejected any attempts to annex land and displace Palestinians.
Saudi Arabia has said it will not normalise relations with Israel – a key goal of the Trump administration – without the creation of a Palestinian state that includes Gaza.
Egypt also weighed in, saying it would not be part of any proposal to displace Palestinians from neighbouring Gaza, where residents reacted with fury to the suggestion.
The Trump administration has already dialled back aspects of the proposal, saying the relocation of Palesetinians would be temporary.
In a social media post on Thursday, Mr Trump said Israel would turn Gaza over to the United States after the war and that no US soldiers would be needed for his plan to redevelop it.
Human Rights Watch and other groups say the plan, if implemented, would amount to “ethnic cleansing,” the forcible relocation of the civilian population of an ethnic group from a geographic area.
A number of far-right Israeli politicians have already openly called for Palestinians to be moved from Gaza.
