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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)
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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." 

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Arab World

4 US Service Members Killed in Plane Crash Over Iraq

(FILES) A US Air Force Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker aerial-refuelling aircraft flies over Tel Aviv on March 4, 2026. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP)
(FILES) A US Air Force Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker aerial-refuelling aircraft flies over Tel Aviv on March 4, 2026. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP)
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4 US Service Members Killed in Plane Crash Over Iraq

(FILES) A US Air Force Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker aerial-refuelling aircraft flies over Tel Aviv on March 4, 2026. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP)
(FILES) A US Air Force Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker aerial-refuelling aircraft flies over Tel Aviv on March 4, 2026. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP)

Four of the six crew members aboard a US military aircraft that crashed in western Iraq are confirmed to have been killed, the US military said on Friday, ⁠as rescue efforts ⁠continued for the remaining two.

A US military refueling aircraft crashed in western ⁠Iraq on Thursday, in an incident the military said involved another aircraft but was not the result of hostile or friendly fire.

"The circumstances of the incident are ⁠under ⁠investigation. However, the loss of the aircraft was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire," a statement from US Central Command said.

The plane was taking part in the operation against Iran.

Both President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have warned that the Iran war would likely claim more American lives before it ends.

Arab World

Iran War Raises Concerns Over Impact on Suez Canal Traffic

A ship transits the Suez Canal last month (Suez Canal Authority). 
A ship transits the Suez Canal last month (Suez Canal Authority). 
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Iran War Raises Concerns Over Impact on Suez Canal Traffic

A ship transits the Suez Canal last month (Suez Canal Authority). 
A ship transits the Suez Canal last month (Suez Canal Authority). 

The Iran war has sparked growing concern in Egypt over its potential impact on navigation through the Suez Canal, one of the country’s most important sources of national income. Experts say the conflict has already begun affecting traffic through the strategic waterway as security risks for ships increase.

Recent reports indicate that several major global shipping companies—including Denmark’s Maersk, France’s CMA CGM, and Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd—have suspended the transit of some vessels through the canal.

The head of the Suez Canal Authority, Admiral Osama Rabie, expressed hope that regional stability would return soon, warning that escalating tensions could have serious repercussions for maritime transport and global supply chains.

In a statement issued Thursday, Rabie said the authority has moved to upgrade its maritime and navigational services and introduce new activities designed to meet customer needs in both normal and emergency circumstances. These include ship maintenance and repair services, maritime rescue operations and marine ambulance services, alongside continued modernization of the authority’s fleet of marine units.

Early impact on canal traffic

International transport expert Osama Aqil said the war’s effect on the canal had been evident since the first days of the conflict.

“Current indicators show that canal traffic has declined by about 50 percent since the war began,” Aqil told Asharq Al-Awsat. He attributed the drop to rising security risks and higher insurance premiums imposed on vessels passing through the region.

Aqil warned that the impact could deepen if the conflict drags on. Even after hostilities end, he said, it may take considerable time for shipping traffic to return to normal.

“International shipping groups that divert their vessels to the Cape of Good Hope route will likely sign contracts for the alternative passage,” he said. “Ending those arrangements and redirecting ships back through the canal will take time.”

Before the latest tensions, the Suez Canal had been showing signs of recovery following an earlier setback caused by Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea linked to the war in Gaza.

In January, the Suez Canal Authority said navigation statistics showed a “noticeable improvement” during the first half of the 2025–2026 fiscal year. Rabie said at the time that indicators pointed to improving revenues as some shipping lines resumed using the canal after conditions stabilized in the Red Sea.

Wider threat to global trade

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has also warned about the impact of regional tensions on shipping in the Red Sea. During a meeting in Cairo earlier this month with Ajay Banga, president of the World Bank Group, Sisi said Egypt had lost roughly $10 billion in Suez Canal revenues due to the Gaza war, according to the Egyptian presidency.

Aqil said the Iran war could affect not only the canal but global trade more broadly, which he said has already shown signs of slowing.

“If the conflict continues, transport costs will rise, which will push up prices for many goods and commodities,” he stated.

Suez Canal revenues dropped sharply in 2024, falling 61 percent to $3.9 billion, compared with about $10.2 billion in 2023.

Security risk management expert Major General Ihab Youssef noted that the continuation of the war poses a threat to global navigation, not only to the Suez Canal.

Egypt secures ships along the canal and up to the limits of its territorial waters, he remarked. However, vessels traveling to and from the waterway must still pass through areas affected by military operations in the Gulf region and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, prompting many shipping companies to reroute vessels around the Cape of Good Hope.

“Any closure of the Strait of Hormuz would further increase the risks of transit, particularly if the war is prolonged,” Youssef said.

 

 

Arab World

Australia Orders All 'Non-essential' Officials to Leave Lebanon

A plume of smoke billows following reported Israeli strikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut, after an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, Lebanon, March 13, 2026. (Reuters)
A plume of smoke billows following reported Israeli strikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut, after an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, Lebanon, March 13, 2026. (Reuters)
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Australia Orders All 'Non-essential' Officials to Leave Lebanon

A plume of smoke billows following reported Israeli strikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut, after an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, Lebanon, March 13, 2026. (Reuters)
A plume of smoke billows following reported Israeli strikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut, after an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, Lebanon, March 13, 2026. (Reuters)

Australia has ordered all non-essential officials in Lebanon to leave, Canberra's foreign minister said Friday, after issuing the same command to diplomats in Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

In a post on X, top diplomat Penny Wong said they had been ordered to depart due to the "deteriorating security situation", AFP said.

"Essential Australian officials will remain in-country to support Australians who need it," she added.

The warning came hours after Canberra issued the same order to officials in Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

Canberra has said there are about 115,000 Australian nationals across the Middle East, of whom about 2,600 have returned home.

"We urge Australians in the Middle East to leave if you can and if it's safe to do so," Wong said.

"Don't wait until it's too late. It may be the last chance for some time."

The United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28 that killed its supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, and triggered a war in the Middle East.

Iran has responded with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel as well as Gulf states like the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar.

Officials said 14 people had been killed in Israel since the start of the Iran war.

Inside Iran, its health ministry said this week that more than 1,200 people have been killed.

Hundreds more people have died in Lebanon.

Australia backed the US-Israeli strikes as necessary to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

And Canberra said this week it would deploy a long-range military reconnaissance plane to the Gulf to protect civilians.