Trump floats plan to 'just clean out' Gaza, move Palestinians to Egypt and Jordan

Joey Garrison, USA TODAY

Updated January 26, 2025 at 12:48 p.m.·2 min read

WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump said Saturday he wants Egypt and Jordan to take in additional Palestinian refugees from the Gaza Strip while floating a plan to "just clean out" the war-torn area to bring peace to the Middle East.

Speaking with reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump mentioned a call he had earlier that day with King Abdullah II of Jordan.

"I'd like him to take people. I'd like Egypt to take people," Trump said, adding that he plans to speak to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday. "You're talking about a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing. You know, over the century, it's had many, many conflicts. And I don't know, something has to happen."

He suggested the relocations of Palestinians from their homes in Gaza could be either temporary or long-term.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with reporters as they ask questions aboard Air Force One during a flight from Las Vegas, Nevada, to Miami, Florida on Jan. 25, 2025.

More: The Israel-Hamas ceasefire appears to be holding steady. Does Trump deserve credit?

Israel is 15 months into its war in Gaza, which was launched after Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 Israelis. Israel and Hamas are currently in a temporary cease-fire, orchestrated with help from the Trump and former Biden administrations, which is resulting in the release of Israeli hostages from Gaza.

More than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war, according to Gaza health authorities, while more than 400 Israeli soldiers have died in combat in Gaza.

"It's literally a demolition site now," Trump said of Gaza. "Almost everything is demolished and people are dying there so I’d rather get involved with some of the Arab nations and build housing in a different location where they can maybe live in peace. It could be either, it could be temporary, it could be long-term.”

Trump on Saturday also said he instructed the U.S. military to release a hold imposed by former President Joe Biden on the supply of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel.

"We released them. We released them today. And they'll have them. They paid for them and they've been waiting for them for a long time. They've been in storage," Trump told reporters.

Biden put the hold on the delivery of those bombs due to concern over the impact they could have on the civilian population, particularly in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza.

Contributing: Reuters.

Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: President Trump floats plan to 'just clean out' war-torn Gaza

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