President Donald Trump has said he is not ruling out deploying troops to support the reconstruction of Gaza after the permanent resettlement of displaced Palestinians outside the war-torn territory. Trump made the comments at a joint news conference after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, where the two leaders discussed a fragile ceasefire and hostage deal in the war between Israel and Hamas.
The US President has said that he wants the United States to take ownership of the Gaza Strip and rebuild it after the Palestinians have been resettled in other countries.
"The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will also do a piece of work with it. We will own it and we will be responsible for dismantling all dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the ground," Trump told reporters.
He did not immediately offer details on how the U.S. will manage the site or what it will do with it. He said the U.S. will work on economic development of the area after cleaning up the destroyed buildings.
"I don't think people should come back," Trump said. "It is impossible to live in Gaza now. I think we need another place. I think it should be a location that makes people happy."
Trump's remarks came at a time when he and his top advisers were making the case that the three- to five-year timetable for rebuilding the war-torn territory, as set out in the temporary ceasefire agreement, is not realistic.
"If you look at the decade, it's all death in Gaza," Trump added. "This has been going on for years. It's all death. If we can get a beautiful area where we can move people, permanently, into nice houses where they can be happy and not be shot and not be killed and not be stabbed to death like what is happening in Gaza."
Egypt and Jordan, as well as other Arab countries, have categorically rejected Trump's calls to resettle 2.3 million Palestinians from the territory during the post-war reconstruction of the territory.
However, senior administration officials continue to push for the resettlement of Palestinians on humanitarian grounds.
"I think it's unfair to explain to the Palestinians that they might come back in five years," Trump's Middle East envoy told reporters Steve Witkoff. "That's just absurd."
The White House has focused on reconstruction at a time when the nascent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas hangs in the balance.
Israel's prime minister also faces competing pressure from his right-wing coalition to end a temporary ceasefire against Hamas militants in Gaza, and from war-weary Israelis who want the remaining hostages to return home and for the 15-month conflict to end.
Trump, meanwhile, remains cautious about the long-term prospects for a ceasefire, though he takes credit for getting Hamas and Israel to agree to a hostage and ceasefire deal that went into effect the day before he returned to office last month.
"I have no guarantees that the peace will last," Trump told reporters on Monday.
Since returning to office, Trump has called for the resettlement of Palestinians from Gaza to neighbouring Egypt and Jordan, although Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Jordan's King Abdullah II have refused.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, the Palestinian Authority and the Arab League joined Egypt and Jordan in rejecting plans to transfer Palestinians from their territories in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
Still, Trump insists he can persuade Egypt and Jordan to face up to taking in displaced Palestinians, thanks to the significant US aid to Cairo and Amman. The hard right wing of Netanyahu's government has accepted the call to move displaced Palestinians out of Gaza.

Netanyahu is in the midst of weeks of testimony in an ongoing corruption trial centering on allegations that he exchanged benefits with media moguls and wealthy associates. Netanyahu has denied the allegations, saying he is the victim of a "witch hunt."
Seeing Trump, who is popular in Israel, could help distract the public from the process and strengthen Netanyahu's position.
"We have the right leader for Israel who has done a great job," Trump said of Netanyahu.
This is Netanyahu's first trip outside Israel since November, when the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for him, his former defence minister and a slain Hamas military commander, charging them with crimes against humanity during the Gaza war. The US does not recognise the jurisdiction of the ICC over its citizens or its territory.
The prime minister is also expected to use the visit to pressure Trump into taking decisive action against Iran. Tehran has faced a series of military setbacks, including Israeli forces that have severely degraded Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon, as well as an operation that decimated Iran's air defenses. This moment, according to Netanyahu, created the space for a decisive resolution of Tehran's nuclear program.
Before the meeting with Netanyahu Trump signed an executive orderwhich, in his view, will increase the economic pressure on Iran.