Trump's remarks on Gaza are 'incomprehensible': US senator

WASHINGTON

US Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday criticized President Donald Trump's plan to move Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip.

"It is literally impossible to understand what Trump is talking about in terms of Gaza. It is incomprehensible," Sanders said in a video posted on X.

He said that in the last 15 months, people in Gaza have suffered "unbelievably," with more than 45,000 killed and over 100,000 injured.

"Virtually all of the housing has been destroyed. The health care system, the education system were destroyed. And now, in response to all of that, what Donald Trump was saying, 'Hey, we're going to push these 2.2 million people out of Gaza, and we're going to build something really beautiful, like the French Riviera, so the billionaires can come and enjoy the beautiful view.’”

"It is grotesque. It is almost unspeakable. So together, we are going to work and make sure that we rebuild Gaza for the Palestinian people, not for the billionaire class," Sanders said.

Trump doubled down on his Gaza “takeover” plan Thursday and said no US soldiers would be needed. The proposal has been widely condemned by world leaders.

"The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting," he said on his Truth Social platform, and claimed that the Palestinians would have “a chance to be happy, safe, and free” due to the relocation scheme he proposed, which envisions Palestinians displaced to Egypt and Jordan.

"The U.S., working with great development teams from all over the World, would slowly and carefully begin the construction of what would become one of the greatest and most spectacular developments of its kind on Earth," he said.