Global Reaction to Trump’s Gaza Strip Takeover Plan

US President Donald J. Trump speaks during a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 04 February 2025. (EPA)
US President Donald J. Trump speaks during a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 04 February 2025. (EPA)
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Global Reaction to Trump’s Gaza Strip Takeover Plan

US President Donald J. Trump speaks during a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 04 February 2025. (EPA)
US President Donald J. Trump speaks during a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 04 February 2025. (EPA)

President Donald Trump said the United States would take over the Gaza Strip after Palestinians are resettled elsewhere. 

Here are some global reactions to the announcement. 

SAUDI ARABIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY 

"Saudi Arabia rejects any attempts to displace the Palestinians from their land. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has affirmed the kingdom's position in 'a clear and explicit manner' that does not allow for any interpretation under any circumstances." 

EGYPT'S FOREIGN MINISTER BADR ABDELATTY 

Abdelatty discussed with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa the importance of moving forward with recovery projects in Gaza without Palestinians leaving the Gaza Strip. 

PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT MAHMOUD ABBAS AND THE PALESTINIAN LEADERSHIP 

Abbas said the Palestinians will not relinquish their land, rights, and sacred sites, and that the Gaza Strip is an integral part of the land of the State of Palestine, along with the West Bank and East Jerusalem. 

SENIOR HAMAS OFFICIAL SAMI ABU ZUHRI 

"Our people in the Gaza Strip will not allow these plans to pass, and what is required is to end the (Israeli) occupation and aggression against our people, not to expel them from their land." 

KREMLIN SPOKESMAN DMITRY PESKOV 

Russia believes a settlement in the Middle East is only possible on the basis of a two-state solution. 

CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY 

"China hopes all parties will take ceasefire and post-conflict governance as an opportunity to bring the Palestinian issue back on the right track of political settlement based on the two-state solution." 

TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER HAKAN FIDAN 

US President Donald Trump's comments on a plan to take over Gaza are "unacceptable". Any plans leaving Palestinians "out of the equation" would lead to more conflict. 

PALESTINE LIBERATION ORGANISATION SECRETARY GENERAL HUSSEIN AL-SHEIKH 

"The Palestinian leadership affirms its firm position that the two-state solution, in accordance with international legitimacy and international law, is the guarantee of security, stability and peace." 

ISLAMIC JIHAD 

"Trump's positions and plans are a dangerous escalation that threaten Arab and regional national security, especially in Egypt and Jordan, which the US administration wants to put in confrontation with the Palestinian people and their rights." 

UK ENVIRONMENT MINISTER STEVE REED 

"The UK government's position ... is that Palestinian civilians must be able to return to their homes and rebuild their lives. For those people, the last ...months have been a living nightmare, and it's important they're able to go home after this to start to rebuild. 

"They'll need a lot of support from the international community to do that, but it's the only way we're going to get to the long-term solution for all of this, and a long-term peace, which is a two-state solution." 

AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER ANTHONY ALBANESE 

"Australia's position is the same as it was this morning, as it was last year. The Australian government supports on a bipartisan basis a two-state solution." 

DEMOCRATIC AND PALESTINIAN-AMERICAN US REPRESENTATIVE RASHIDA TLAIB 

"Palestinians aren't going anywhere. This president can only spew this fanatical (expletive) because of bipartisan support in Congress for funding genocide and ethnic cleansing. It's time for my two-state solution colleagues to speak up." 

US MUSLIM ADVOCACY GROUP COUNCIL ON AMERICAN ISLAMIC RELATIONS 

"Gaza belongs to the Palestinian people, not the United States, and President Trump's call to expel Palestinians from their land is an absolute non-starter." 

"If the Palestinian people were ever somehow forcibly expelled from Gaza, this crime against humanity would spark widespread conflict, put the final nail in the coffin of international law, and destroy what remains of our nation's international image and standing." 

PAUL O'BRIEN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA 

"Removing all Palestinians from Gaza is tantamount to destroying them as a people. Gaza is their home. Gaza's death and destruction is a result of the government of Israel killing civilians by the thousands, often with US bombs." 

DEMOCRATIC US SENATOR CHRIS MURPHY 

"He's totally lost it...A US invasion of Gaza would lead to the slaughter of thousands of US troops and decades of war in the Middle East. It's like a bad, sick joke." 



Palestinians Say West Bank Teen Killed by Israeli Fire

An Israeli security force personnel patrols during a military raid at the Qalandia refugee camp, south of the city of Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on May 6, 2026. (AFP)
An Israeli security force personnel patrols during a military raid at the Qalandia refugee camp, south of the city of Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on May 6, 2026. (AFP)
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Palestinians Say West Bank Teen Killed by Israeli Fire

An Israeli security force personnel patrols during a military raid at the Qalandia refugee camp, south of the city of Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on May 6, 2026. (AFP)
An Israeli security force personnel patrols during a military raid at the Qalandia refugee camp, south of the city of Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on May 6, 2026. (AFP)

Palestinian health officials said a teenager was killed by Israeli fire in a village in the West Bank on Wednesday, the latest in a series of violent incidents shaking the Israeli-occupied territory.

The health ministry in Ramallah identified the victim as 16-year-old Yusef Ali Kaabnah, saying he was "killed by occupation bullets" near the town of Jiljilya, north of Ramallah.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said he had been shot in the chest during a raid by Israeli settlers who were accompanied by Israeli troops.

Four others were injured in the incident, it added.

The Israeli military told AFP that security forces were dispatched to the area "following reports of several Israeli civilians who entered Jiljilya after livestock had been stolen from an illegal outpost".

Troops "operated to prevent confrontation in the area and extract the livestock" and "escort all Israeli civilians out", and as they were leaving, "a violent riot developed, which included stone-throwing," the military said.

"The soldiers responded with riot dispersal means and live fire toward the primary instigators," it added.

Violence has increased in the West Bank since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023.

According to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry figures, Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 1,071 Palestinians in the West Bank since the war began.

Official Israeli figures show at least 46 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations in the same period.


Lebanon Says Over 10,000 Homes Destroyed or Damaged Since Israel Truce

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Jarjouaa on May 13, 2026. (AFP)
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Jarjouaa on May 13, 2026. (AFP)
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Lebanon Says Over 10,000 Homes Destroyed or Damaged Since Israel Truce

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Jarjouaa on May 13, 2026. (AFP)
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Jarjouaa on May 13, 2026. (AFP)

More than 10,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed in Lebanon since a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hezbollah, the head of the country's National Council for Scientific Research said on Wednesday.

"Since the current ceasefire... we have witnessed 5,386 housing units that were completely destroyed, and 5,246 housing units damaged," CRNS chief Chadi Abdallah told a news conference broadcast by local media.

Israel has kept up heavy airstrikes despite the April 17 ceasefire, and Israeli soldiers are operating inside an Israeli-declared "yellow line", which runs around 10 kilometers (six miles) north of the Israel-Lebanon border where troops have been carrying out broad demolition operations.


UN Food Agency Halves Syria Food Aid, Halts Bread Subsidy Over Funding Shortages

 11 May 2026, Syria, Badama: Agricultural workers hand-harvest a fresh crop of strawberries as the season begins in the highlands of western Idlib and the coastal range. (dpa)
11 May 2026, Syria, Badama: Agricultural workers hand-harvest a fresh crop of strawberries as the season begins in the highlands of western Idlib and the coastal range. (dpa)
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UN Food Agency Halves Syria Food Aid, Halts Bread Subsidy Over Funding Shortages

 11 May 2026, Syria, Badama: Agricultural workers hand-harvest a fresh crop of strawberries as the season begins in the highlands of western Idlib and the coastal range. (dpa)
11 May 2026, Syria, Badama: Agricultural workers hand-harvest a fresh crop of strawberries as the season begins in the highlands of western Idlib and the coastal range. (dpa)

The World Food Program said ‌on Wednesday it had halved emergency food assistance in Syria due to funding shortages, warning that millions remained vulnerable despite signs of stabilization in parts of the country.

The UN agency's biggest donor, the United States, has slashed its foreign aid under President Donald Trump, and other countries have also made or announced cuts in development and humanitarian assistance.

The WFP said in a statement the number of people receiving emergency food aid in Syria fell to 650,000 in ‌May from 1.3 million, ‌while scaling back operations in all ‌14 ⁠Syrian governorates to just ⁠seven.

Meanwhile, 7.2 million people in Syria remain acutely food insecure, including 1.6 million facing severe hunger, the WFP said. Many households were already reducing meal portions, eating less nutritious food or skipping meals altogether, it added.

“The reduction in WFP’s assistance is driven solely by funding constraints, not by a ⁠decrease in needs,” Marianne Ward, the WFP’s country ‌director in Syria, said in ‌the statement.

The WFP also halted a bread subsidy program ‌that had supported more than 300 bakeries with fortified wheat ‌flour, helping provide subsidized bread to up to four million people daily in some of Syria’s most vulnerable areas.

Syria has faced a deep economic crisis after more than a decade of conflict ‌that devastated infrastructure, displaced millions and battered livelihoods.

Although fighting has eased in many parts of ⁠the ⁠country since the ouster of former President Bashar al-Assad at the end of 2024, aid agencies say humanitarian needs remain severe.

The WFP said it requires $189 million between June and November to sustain and restore assistance inside Syria.

It said funding shortages were also affecting Syrian refugees in neighboring countries.

In Jordan, the agency halted cash-based food assistance for 135,000 Syrian refugees living in host communities, while maintaining reduced support for around 85,000 refugees in camps.

In Egypt, support for 20,000 Syrians has been reduced, while many refugee households in Lebanon remain heavily dependent on aid.