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." 



Israel Army Issues Evacuation Warning for Lebanon Village ahead of Strikes

 Smoke rises after Israeli strikes following Israeli military's evacuation orders, in Chehour, southern Lebanon November 19, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Hankir
Smoke rises after Israeli strikes following Israeli military's evacuation orders, in Chehour, southern Lebanon November 19, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Hankir
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Israel Army Issues Evacuation Warning for Lebanon Village ahead of Strikes

 Smoke rises after Israeli strikes following Israeli military's evacuation orders, in Chehour, southern Lebanon November 19, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Hankir
Smoke rises after Israeli strikes following Israeli military's evacuation orders, in Chehour, southern Lebanon November 19, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Hankir

The Israeli army issued an evacuation warning on Sunday for the village of Kafr Hatta in southern Lebanon ahead of air strikes on Hezbollah targets in the area, AFP reported.

"The Israeli (army) will soon, and once again, strike terrorist Hezbollah military infrastructure in the village, in order to address the prohibited attempts it is making to rebuild its activities there," Arabic-language spokesman Colonel Avichay Adraee wrote on X, posting a map of the expected target.

The Lebanese army said Thursday that it had completed disarming Hezbollah south of the Litani river, the first phase of a nationwide plan. Kafr Hatta is located north of the river.


Sudan PM Announces Govt Return to Khartoum from Wartime Capital

File Photo: Some shops reopen despite extensive damage (Asharq Al-Awsat)
File Photo: Some shops reopen despite extensive damage (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Sudan PM Announces Govt Return to Khartoum from Wartime Capital

File Photo: Some shops reopen despite extensive damage (Asharq Al-Awsat)
File Photo: Some shops reopen despite extensive damage (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Sudan's Prime Minister Kamil Idris announced on Sunday the government's return to Khartoum, after nearly three years of operating from wartime capital of Port Sudan, AFP reported.

"Today, we return, and the Government of Hope returns to the national capital," Idris told reporters in Khartoum, ravaged by the war between the army and the Rapid Support Forces.

"We promise you better services, better healthcare and the reconstruction of hospitals, the development of educational services... and to improve electricity, water and sanitation services," he said.


Iran Protest Death Toll Rises as Alarm Grows over Crackdown 'Massacre'

Smoke rises as protesters gather amid evolving anti-government unrest at Vakilabad highway in Mashhad, Razavi Khorasan province, Iran, released on January 10, 2026, in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. SOCIAL MEDIA/via REUTERS
Smoke rises as protesters gather amid evolving anti-government unrest at Vakilabad highway in Mashhad, Razavi Khorasan province, Iran, released on January 10, 2026, in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. SOCIAL MEDIA/via REUTERS
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Iran Protest Death Toll Rises as Alarm Grows over Crackdown 'Massacre'

Smoke rises as protesters gather amid evolving anti-government unrest at Vakilabad highway in Mashhad, Razavi Khorasan province, Iran, released on January 10, 2026, in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. SOCIAL MEDIA/via REUTERS
Smoke rises as protesters gather amid evolving anti-government unrest at Vakilabad highway in Mashhad, Razavi Khorasan province, Iran, released on January 10, 2026, in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. SOCIAL MEDIA/via REUTERS

At least 192 protesters have been killed in Iran's biggest movement against the Islamic republic in more than three years, a rights group said Sunday, as warnings grew that authorities were committing a "massacre" to quell the demonstrations.

The protests, initially sparked by anger over the rising cost of living, have now become a movement against the theocratic system in place in Iran since the 1979 revolution and have already lasted two weeks.

The mass rallies are one of the biggest challenges to the rule of supreme leader Ali Khamenei, 86, coming in the wake of Israel's 12-day war against the Islamic republic in June, which was backed by the United States.

Protests have swelled in recent days despite an internet blackout that has lasted more than 60 hours, according to monitor Netblocks, with activists warning the shutdown was limiting the flow of information and the actual toll risks being far higher.

"Since the start of the protests, Iran Human Rights has confirmed the killing of at least 192 protesters," the Norway-based non-governmental organization said, warning that the deaths "may be even more extensive than we currently imagine".

Videos of large demonstrations in the capital Tehran and other cities over the past three nights have filtered out despite the internet cut that has rendered impossible normal communication with the outside world via messaging apps or even phone lines.

Video verified by AFP showed large crowds taking to the streets in new protests on Saturday night in several Iranian cities including Tehran and Mashhad in the east, where images showed vehicles set on fire.

Several circulating videos, which have not been verified by AFP, allegedly showed relatives in a Tehran morgue identifying bodies of protesters killed in the crackdown.

The US-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) said it had received "eyewitness accounts and credible reports indicating that hundreds of protesters have been killed across Iran during the current internet shutdown".

"A massacre is unfolding in Iran. The world must act now to prevent further loss of life," it said.

It said hospitals were "overwhelmed", blood supplies were running low and that many protesters had been shot in the eyes in a deliberate tactic.

 

- 'Significant arrests' -

 

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said it had confirmed the deaths of 116 people in connection with the protests, including 37 members of the security forces or other officials.

State TV on Sunday broadcast images of funeral processions for security forces killed in recent days, as authorities condemned "riots" and "vandalism".

National police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan said authorities made "significant" arrests of protest figures on Saturday night, without giving details on the number or identities of those arrested, according to state TV.

Iran's security chief Ali Larijani drew a line between protests over economic hardship, which he called "completely understandable", and "riots", accusing them of actions "very similar to the methods of terrorist groups", Tasnim news agency reported.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said "rioters" must not distrupt Iranian society.

"The people (of Iran) should not allow rioters to disrupt society. The people should believe that we (the government) want to establish justice," he told state broadcaster IRIB.

In Tehran, an AFP journalist described a city in a state of near paralysis.

The price of meat has nearly doubled since the start of the protests, and while some shops are open, many others are not.

Those that do open must close at around 4:00 or 5:00 pm, when security forces deploy in force.

 

- 'Legitimate targets' -

 

Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the ousted shah, who has played a prominent role in calling for the protests, called for new actions later Sunday.

"Do not abandon the streets. My heart is with you. I know that I will soon be by your side," he said.

US President Donald Trump has spoken out in support of the protests and threatened military action against Iranian authorities "if they start killing people".

Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar urged the European Union on Sunday to designate Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps as a "terrorist organization" over the suspected violence against protesters.

He also said Israel supports the Iranian people's "struggle for freedom".

Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Iran would hit back if the US launched military action.

"In the event of a military attack by the United States, both the occupied territory and centers of the US military and shipping will be our legitimate targets," he said in comments broadcast by state TV.

He was apparently also referring to Israel, which the Islamic republic does not recognize and considers occupied Palestinian territory.