Middle East latest: Trump suggests Palestinians leave Gaza as talks on ceasefire resume

President Donald Trump suggested Tuesday that displaced Palestinians be permanently resettled outside Gaza and proposed the U.S. take “ownership” in redeveloping the area. His remarks drew swift opposition and were certain to roil the ceasefire talks between Hamas and Israel.

Trump outlined his thinking as he held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House. Netanyahu is facing competing pressure from his right-wing coalition to end a temporary truce against Hamas militants in Gaza and from war-weary Israelis who want the remaining hostages home and for the war to end.

The first phase of the ceasefire began last month, and Hamas said Tuesday it had begun talks with international mediators in the second phase of the negotiations. The first phase halted fighting, allowed more humanitarian aid into Gaza and exchanged Palestinian prisoners for Israeli hostages taken during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that started the war.

The negotiations for the second phase of the ceasefire were expected to be much more difficult. The later negotiations were likely to include further hostage and prisoner releases, an indefinite extension of the truce and who will govern Gaza after hostilities end.