Standing next to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. President Donald Trump suggested on Tuesday evening that America take over the war-torn Gaza Strip and reconstruct the ravaged territory on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea into “the Riviera of the Middle East.”

“We’ll own it,” President Trump said during the news conference, “Level it out and create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area.”

Intense fighting over the past fifteen month between the Israeli military and the terrorist group Hamas has left Gaza, a Palestinian territory, in ruins. It is home to nearly two million Palestinians and is currently controlled by Hamas.

In response to a question about where Gaza’s inhabitants would go during such a reconstruction, Trump said he’d hope Jordan and Egypt might take them in.

Following a terrorist attack on Israeli civilians on October 7, 2024, military actions in the region have led to the deaths of more than 45,000 Palestinians and 1,700 Israelis and foreign nationals, according to the United Nations. A cease-fire last month has led to several exchanges of hostages between the sides in recent weeks.

“We consider the [the plan] a recipe for creating chaos and tension in the region,” a Hamas spokesman said in response, adding “the people of Gaza will never allow such plans to pass.”

In contrast, some senior Israeli politicians welcomed the Trump proposal. National Unity party chairman Benny Gantz called it “further proof of the deep alliance between the United States and Israel.”

Trump did not rule out the possibility of deploying U.S. troops to secure Gaza for such a project.

U.S. policy in the Middle East since the 1990s endorsed a two-state solution that would allow Palestinians autonomy. This latest suggestion, together with other recent statements by Trump and his administration, indicate a revision of that approach.