Trump 'not committed' but not ruling out putting boots on ground in Gaza, says White House

The White House’s on Wednesday said that President Donald Trump “has not committed to putting boots on the grounds in Gaza" as part of his proposal for a US-takeover of the Palestinian enclave, but did not rule it out.

Trump, during his joint press conference with Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, declined to rule out sending US troops to move Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip.

Asked if the White House can rule out sending American troops to Gaza, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “I am saying that the president has not committed to that just yet. He has not made that commitment.”

Leavitt told reporters that the president believes the US needs to be involved in the rebuilding of Gaza “to ensure stability in the region.”

“That does not mean boots on the ground in Gaza,” she said.

In her first press briefing since President Trump proposed US control of the Gaza Strip, Leavitt highlighted Trump’s statement about the “absolutely unbreakable” bonds of friendship between the US and Israeli people.

She emphasised that Trump is “committed to eliminating Hamas and securing lasting peace for the entire region.” The historic proposal announced by Trump further reflects this commitment, she added.

Leavitt described Trump as an “outside-the-box thinker” and a “visionary leader” who “solves problems that many others consider unsolvable.”

Meanwhile, Trump once again said that “everybody loves”  his proposal for the US to take over the Gaza Strip, despite his shock announcement facing global condemnation.

“Everybody loves it,” The Guardian quoted Trump as saying to reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday.

However, Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday defended Trump’s Gaza move, saying that the US President only wants Palestinians to leave Gaza temporarily while the territory is reconstructed.

Trump’s idea “was not meant as hostile. It was meant as, I think, a very generous move - the offer to rebuild and to be in charge of the rebuilding,” AFP quoted Rubio as saying to reporters on a visit to Guatemala.

Trump offered a US “willingness to step in, clear the debris, clean the place up from all the destruction that’s on the ground, clean it up of all these unexploded munitions,” Rubio said.

“And in the meantime, the people living there will not be able to live there while you have crews coming in and removing debris,” he said.

Trump wants to support “rebuilding homes and businesses and things of this nature, so that then people can move back in,” he said.

Trump stunned the world and drew condemnation when he proposed Tuesday at a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the United States could take over war-battered Gaza.

Later at a press conference alongside Netanyahu on Tuesday, Trump claimed “everybody I’ve spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land,” referring to the Gaza Strip.

With inputs from agencies