Live: Israel delays release of 602 Palestinian prisoners

Former Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir pledged in a statement on Wednesday to Israeli Channel 14 that he will return to the government if the plan for Gaza suggested by US President Donald Trump is implemented.

Ben Gvir said he hopes the proposal of Trump to "take over" Gaza would be implemented on the ground, “not just talks about it”.

Al Jazeera reported that a Palestinian child has been killed by an Israeli sniper who shot him in the chest in al-Awda Square in Rafah, southern Gaza.

Earlier, a Palestinian was killed and another one was wounded in al-Shawka area, eastern Rafah.

In another incident, another person died of wounds he sustained during the first day of the ceasefire in al-Shaboura camp in Rafah.

The Lebanese Hezbollah political advisor Hussein Moussawi described US President Donald Trump’s Gaza plans as “criminal”.

This comes amid a wide global condemnation of a proposal announced by Trump on Tuesday in which he said the US would “take over” and “own” Gaza. Trump had earlier suggested that Palestinians would be "relocated" permanently to Egypt and Jordan.

UN secretary general Antonio Guterres is expected to say in a UN meeting scheduled today how it is "essential to avoid ethnic cleansing" while dealing with the situation in Gaza after the war.

According to UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, Guterres will reaffirm the two-state solution and say that “it is vital that we stay true to the bedrock of international law”.

 “We must not make the problem worse,” his spokesperson added. 

Commenting on his own plan to “overtake” and “own” Gaza, US President Donald Trump said that “everybody loves” it.

His remarks came as he was asked about his reaction to the proposal by reporters in the Oval Office, despite the global condemnation to his plans.

He then said it was “not the right time” for further questions as he was overseeing the swearing-in of new US Attorney General Pam Bondi.

The United Arab Emirates voiced its rejection of any attempt to displace the Palestinian people and deny them “inalienable rights”.

According to a statement issued by the UAE foreign ministry, “regional stability can be attained only through the two-state solution and it is important to halt any settlement activity that threatens that stability”.

Omar Shakir, the Israel and Palestine country director of Human Rights Watch, described the forced displacement of Palestinians as per US President Donald Trump’s proposals as a “moral abomination”.

In response to Trump’s remarks made on Tuesday in a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Shakir told Reuters that “international humanitarian law forbids the forced displacement of the population of an occupied territory”.

He added: “When such forced displacement is widespread, it can amount to a war crime or a crime against humanity.”

Republican US House of Representatives speaker Mike Johnson said that US president Donald Trump is taking "bold" and "decisive" measures to try to ensure peace in Gaza.

"The initial announcement yesterday I think was greeted by surprise by many, but cheered, by I think, people all around the world," Johnson told a press conference. "Why? Because that area is so dangerous, and he's taking bold, decisive action to try to secure the peace of that region."

On Tuesday, Trump said the US will "take over" and "own" Gaza.

Johnson explained that he is looking forward to meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and “will discuss many matters with him, including eliminating the threat to Israel".

He said he awaited further details on Trump's plan and that he would discuss the issue with Netanyahu when he meets with him at the US Capitol on Thursday.

He said there is a risk of another attack on Israel, like the Hamas attack of 7 October 2023, if Gaza remains "in its present form", and it made sense to minimise the risk.

Reporting by Reuters

So the Gaza Strip has been added to US President Donald Trump’s wide geopolitical vision of remaking the world. After Greenland, Canada and the Panama Canal, Trump is eyeing the world’s biggest open-air rubble storage site.

He has vowed to rebuild the “hellish” territory into a wonderful real-estate development, perhaps including a series of Mar-a-Lago-style resorts along the Mediterranean coast. 

The setting for this announcement was ripe with macabre irony, as he made it sitting next to the man who over the past year has turned Gaza into a hellscape: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Sadly, no journalist among those admitted into the Oval Office dared to highlight these outrageous circumstances.

Read more: Sorry Trump, Palestinians aren't going to fall for 'Make Gaza Great Again'

Donald Trump’s call for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to be expelled from the enclave has been received rapturously by right-wing Israelis – and drawn support and interest from the left as well.

On Tuesday, the US president said that Palestinians had no alternative but to leave war-torn Gaza and go somewhere “good, fresh, beautiful”.

After meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said: “Everybody I've spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land, developing and creating thousands of jobs with something that will be magnificent.”

As expected, his comments were met with support and satisfaction by prominent right-wing figures.

Itamar Ben Gvir, who until recently was Netanyahu’s national security minister and has hinted he will now return to the government, said: "It is now clear: This is the only solution to the Gaza problem - this is the strategy for the ‘day after’. I call on the prime minister to announce as soon as possible the adoption of the plan and to begin immediate practical advancement of the plan."

Read more: Trump's Gaza plans praised by Israel's left and right

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy has said that US President Donald Trump is correct that Gaza is "lying in rubble", while insisting in contrast to the president's comments on Tuesday that Palestinians must be able to "live and prosper" in Gaza. 

"I don't know how [Palestinians in Gaza] could want to stay," Trump remarked at a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday.

"It's a demolition site. It's a pure demolition site," he said.

"If we can find the right piece of land or numerous pieces of land and build them some really nice places, with plenty of money in the area, that's for sure, I think that would be a lot better than going back to Gaza, which has had just decades and decades of death."

Asked for his response at a press conference in Kyiv, the British foreign secretary said: "Donald Trump is right. Looking at those scenes of Palestinians who have been horrendously displaced over so many months of war, it's clear that Gaza is lying in rubble."

Read more: David Lammy says 'Trump is right' that Gaza is 'lying in rubble'

The Arab League has said that US President Donald Trump's proposal to take over "Gaza" and displace Palestinians would violate international law and cause further instability.

In a statement, the Arab League's secretariat said the suggestion is promoting "the displacement of Palestinians, which is rejected on the Arab and international levels,"  adding that the move is "a recipe for instability" and would be in "violation of international law".

Qatar, a key mediator in the Gaza ceasefire talks, was busy with phase two of the deal, and said it was too early to talk about the issue of Palestinians and displacement, Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson told Fox News on Wednesday.

"We know that there is a lot of trauma with the Palestinian side when it comes to displacement. However, again, it's too early to talk about this, because we don't know how this war will end," Majed Al-Ansari said.

Reporting by Reuters

Jordan's King Abdullah II has said he rejects "any attempts" to take control of the Palestinian territories and displace its people, after President Donald Trump announced a proposal for the United States to "take over" Gaza.

The monarch made the comments  in a meeting with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, calling for a stop to settlement activities and a rejection of "any attempts to annex lands and displace Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, stressing the need to establish the Palestinians on their land", a statement said. 

Reporting by AFP

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said that Palestinians "must be allowed home" in response to US President Donald Trump's proposal that the US should "take over" Gaza.

"They must be allowed home. They must be allowed to rebuild, and we should be with them in that rebuild on the way to a two-state solution," Starmer told the UK parliament during his weekly questions session.