US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Palestinians in Gaza may have to temporarily leave the area because it is currently uninhabitable. Rubio spoke at a press conference in the Dominican Republic, describing Gaza as “not habitable” because of widespread destruction and unexploded munitions.
“Gaza right now has unexploded munitions, lots of rockets and weapons,” Rubio said. “I think it’s just a realistic reality that, in order to fix a place like that, people are going to have to live somewhere else in the interim.”
![](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,<svg height="1080px" width="1920px" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1"/>)
His remarks come as debate continues over the Trump administration’s proposed plans for Gaza. Although President Donald Trump previously floated the idea of permanently relocating Palestinians to neighbouring countries, top officials, including Rubio and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, have recently appeared to temper those remarks.
However, Rubio urged neighbouring countries to “step up” and take an active role in addressing the crisis, saying, “other countries in the region should step forward and provide a solution and an answer to that problem.
The commentaries note the ambiguity on the part of the US policy regarding the future of Gaza, since the Trump administration never emphasized relocation but instead focused on rebuilding. The Trump administration has not cleared up specific details involving the interim resettlement plan.
