DUBAI (Reuters) – Egypt said on Thursday it appreciated U.S. President Donald Trump’s remarks on not demanding that residents of Gaza leave the enclave, according to a statement from the foreign ministry.
“Nobody is expelling any Palestinians from Gaza,” Trump said on Wednesday, in response to a question during a meeting in the White House with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin.
“This position reflects an understanding of the need to prevent further deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the importance of finding fair, sustainable solutions to the Palestinian issue,” the Egyptian foreign ministry added.
Trump had proposed a U.S. takeover of Gaza, where Israel’s military assault in the last 17 months has killed tens of thousands, after earlier suggesting that Palestinians in the enclave should be permanently displaced.
Palestinian militant group Hamas carried out a cross-border raid into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, triggering the devastating war in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas on Wednesday welcomed Trump’s apparent retreat from his proposal for the displacement of Gazans, urging him to refrain from aligning with the vision of the “extreme Zionist right.”
Earlier in March, Arab leaders adopted a $53 billion Egyptian reconstruction plan for Gaza that would avoid displacing Palestinians to counter Trump’s vision of a “Middle East Riviera.”
(Reporting by Jana Choukeir; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
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