After Trump's proposal, Israel orders military to draft plan for Palestinians to leave Gaza

Israel's defense minister says he has instructed the military to prepare plans for a large number of Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip in line with President Donald Trump's proposal for the war-torn territory.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Thursday that the plan "will include options for exit at land crossings, as well as separate agreements for exit by sea and air," the Telegraph reports.

He said he welcomed Trump's "bold plan, which could allow a large population in Gaza to leave for different places in the world."

He did not say whether Palestinians would one day be able to return to Gaza, which has been rendered largely uninhabitable by Israel's 15-month military campaign against Hamas.

Read too Displacement of Gaza residents would be temporary, Rubio says

Trump on Wednesday proposed that most of Gaza's population be relocated "permanently" elsewhere while the United States rebuilds the territory.

US officials later said the relocation would only be temporary, but Palestinians fear Israel would never allow them to return, deepening and perpetuating a refugee crisis that dates back to the state's creation.

Trump's plan was rejected by the Palestinians and much of the international community. Rights groups said it would amount to forced displacement in violation of international law. /Telegraph/