Gaza has long been a powder keg. It exploded after Hamas fighters stormed southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and began killing and abducting people, sparking a crushing Israeli military operation that’s only recently stopped under a fragile ceasefire.

Trump’s proposal for the U.S. to take “ownership” over Gaza and displace Palestinians added to uncertainty over the fate of the enclave and its residents.

Aftershocks reverberated Wednesday from President Trump’s declaration the previous day that the United States should take “long-term ownership” of Gaza and that the Palestinians who live there

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump, proposing a major shift in Middle East policy, called for the U.S. to take over the Gaza Strip and relocate roughly two million Palestinians to neighboring Arab countries. His goal, he said, is to turn the war-ravaged enclave into the "Riviera of the Middle East."

President Donald Trump's plan for the United States to "take over" Gaza, permanently displacing Palestinians who live there and creating the "Riviera of the Middle East," has upset Arab nations and Western allies and would overturn decades of American policy in the region.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio weighed in on President Trump’s proposal to take over the Gaza Strip, calling to “Make Gaza Beautiful Again.” “Gaza MUST BE FREE from Hamas,” Rubio posted to X. “As