iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
On Wednesday, February 5, the White House clarified that President Donald Trump had not committed any funds to his proposal for the U.S. to take over Gaza or deploy troops there.
Senior officials emphasized that Trump was not suggesting a long-term occupation of Gaza, as he seemed to imply in a Tuesday, February 4, news conference with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed during a briefing that the President had not made a commitment to send American troops to Gaza.
She also pointed out that the U.S. would not be funding Gaza’s rebuilding but would collaborate with regional partners to help reconstruct the area.
Leavitt referred to Trump’s proposal as an “out-of-box idea” aimed at achieving “lasting peace” in the region. When asked if Trump had backed off from the idea of deploying troops, Leavitt responded, “The President has not committed to that just yet.”
During the joint news conference with Netanyahu, Trump outlined his plan to take control of the Gaza Strip, stating, “The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too. We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site. Level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings, level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area.”
Trump suggested that Gaza was currently uninhabitable, describing it as a “demolition site” due to the aftermath of Israeli military actions following the October 7 Hamas attacks.
He proposed that residents could temporarily relocate to neighboring countries like Egypt and Jordan while Gaza was rebuilt, envisioning it as a “riviera of the Middle East”.
Reports from U.S. media indicated that Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking in Guatemala, emphasized that Trump’s plan was focused on clearing out and rebuilding Gaza, not on claiming indefinite control over the territory.
Additionally, Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy to West Asia, reportedly told Republican Senators in a closed-door meeting that Trump did not intend to deploy U.S. troops or spend American resources on Gaza.
(Photo courtesy: IANS)
