 "US President Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu. Reuters File")
US President Donald Trump on Thursday said that his country wants to “take” Gaza and “turn it into a freedom zone”, as the war continues to rage in the Palestinian territory.
The US president made the comments during his visit to Qatar, where he said, “I have concepts for Gaza that I think are very good, make it a freedom zone, let the United States get involved and make it just a freedom zone. I’d be proud to have the United States have it, take it, make it a freedom zone.”
This is not the first time Trump has made territorial claims on Gaza. Earlier this year, the Republican leader suggested that he could “own” Gaza and resettle its population, a plan that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was on board with at the time.
The US president even went to the extent of sharing an AI-generated video where he created a utopian world for Gaza, calling it “Trump Gaza” . The video showed beaches, giant golden statues of Trump, and malls selling golden miniatures of Trump, amid dancers performing with Trump. The video starts with a view of Gaza devastated in the Israel-Hamas War, and then shows skyscrapers.
In the background, a rap song plays: “Donald Trump will set you free, bringing the life for all to see, no more tunnels, no more fears, Trump Gaza is finally here. Trump Gaza shines bright, golden future and a brand new light, feast and dance when the deal is done, Trump Gaza number one.”
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More ShortsThe video also featured Elon Musk and Netanyahu enjoying food and the beach with Trump.
Meanwhile, on the war front, Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli strikes and artillery shelling on Thursday killed at least 50 people in the war-battered Palestinian territory.
Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said at least 13 people were “recovered from rubble” after a dawn strike in the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis, while another 35 were killed in 12 separate strikes across the Gaza Strip.
Bassal added that in southern Gaza, one woman was killed in artillery shelling, and one man by gunfire.
The Israeli government approved plans to expand the offensive earlier this month, and spoke of the “conquest” of Gaza.
Of the 251 hostages taken during Hamas’s October 2023 attack, 57 remain in Gaza, including 34, the military says, are dead.
With inputs from agencies