In short:
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has told the military to prepare plans that allow for the "voluntary departure" of Palestinians from Gaza.
It came as US president Donald Trump doubled down on his proposal to forcibly redevelop the Gaza Strip and resettle the Palestinian population in other nations.
Israel's defence minister has told the country's army to prepare plans to give Palestinians in Gaza "the freedom to leave" as Donald Trump doubled down on his controversial proposal for the US to "take over" and redevelop the war-torn territory.
Israel Katz said Gazans could "emigrate" and countries who had criticised the country's war with Hamas would be "obligated" to allow them to "enter their territory".
It came as the US president posted on Truth Social on Thursday that he expected Israel to "turn over" Gaza "at the conclusion of fighting".
Mr Trump has drawn widespread criticism after he proposed resettling the almost 2 million Palestinians in Gaza so the strip could be rebuilt into a "Riviera of the Middle East".
Mr Katz posted on X that Gazans would be offered the freedom to depart.
He said: "I welcome President Trump's bold plan, Gaza residents should be allowed the freedom to leave and emigrate, as is the norm around the world."
He added: "The plan will include exit options via land crossings, as well as special arrangements for departure by sea and air.
"Countries such as Spain, Ireland, Norway, and others, which have falsely accused Israel over its actions in Gaza, are legally obligated to allow Gazans to enter their territory. Their hypocrisy will be exposed if they refuse."
US president Donald Trump has doubled down on his proposal to forcibly relocate Palestinian civilian residents from the Gaza Strip, while American authorities redevelop the enclave. (AP: Evan Vucci)
Mr Trump, who had previously declined to rule out deploying American troops to Gaza, clarified his plans in comments on his Truth Social platform on Thursday.
"They would actually have a chance to be happy, safe, and free," he said.
"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.
"No soldiers by the U.S. would be needed!"
Mr Trump's unexpected announcement on Tuesday, which sparked anger around the Middle East, came as Israel and Hamas were expected to begin talks in Doha on the second stage of a ceasefire deal, intended to open the way for a full withdrawal of Israeli forces and an end to the war.
Regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia rejected the new US-Israel proposal outright and Jordan's King Abdullah, who will meet Mr Trump at the White House next week, said on Wednesday he rejected any attempts to annex land and displace Palestinians.
"We will not sell our land for you, real estate developer. We are hungry, homeless, and desperate but we are not collaborators," said Abdel Ghani, a father of four living with his family in the ruins of their Gaza City home. "If [Trump] wants to help, let him come and rebuild for us here."
Trump's Gaza proposal surprised many, but we've seen this tactic before
Photo shows Donald Trump speaking
Meanwhile, Hamas official Basem Naim accused Mr Katz of trying to cover up "for a state that has failed to achieve any of its objectives in the war on Gaza", and said Palestinians were too attached to their land to ever leave.
Displacement of Palestinians has been one of the most sensitive issues in the Middle East for decades. Forced or coerced displacement of a population under military occupation is a war crime, banned under the 1949 Geneva Conventions.
Israeli strikes which killed tens of thousands of people over the past 16 months have forced Palestinians to repeatedly move around within Gaza, seeking safety.
But many say they will never leave the enclave because they fear permanent displacement, like the "Nakba", or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands were dispossessed from homes in the war at the birth of the state of Israel in 1948.
US and Israel to withdraw from UN human rights body
The news came as he announced that the United States would withdraw from the top United Nations human rights body and would not resume funding for the agency helping Palestinian refugees.
The US left the Geneva-based Human Rights Council last year, and it stopped funding the agency assisting Palestinian refugees — known as UNRWA — after Israel accused it of harbouring Hamas militants who participated in the October 7 attacks in southern Israel.
The president's executive orders also called for a review of American involvement in the Paris-based UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, known as UNESCO, and a review of US funding for the United Nations in light of "the wild disparities in levels of funding among different countries".
The United States, with the world's largest economy, pays 22 per cent of the UN's regular operating budget, with China the second-largest contributor.
"I've always felt that the UN has tremendous potential," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday.
"It's not living up to that potential right now … they've got to get their act together."
Following those comments, Israel informed the United Nations Human Rights Council on Thursday that it will follow the United States in withdrawing its participation, according to Foreign Minister Gideon Saar.
In response Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, said that Israel's decision to withdraw was "extremely serious".
"It shows the hubris and the lack of realisation of what they [Israel] have done," Ms Albanese told Reuters.
"They insist in self-righteousness, that they have nothing to be held accountable for, and they are proving it to the entire international community."
Commenting on Mr Trump's Gaza proposal, Ms Albanese said: "Trump is destroying the basic principles of respect for human rights across a huge spectrum, not just in Palestine … We have moved further towards the abyss."
"I'm surprised that European states are staying silent instead of rising up and saying: 'This is utter nonsense, and we will not tolerate this'."
AP/Reuters
