Is Trump Administration plotting to move Gaza Palestinians to Libya? US Embassy in Tripoli denies report

Despite multiple sources confirming discussions, according to NBC News, that the Trump administration is reportedly considering a plan to permanently relocate up to 1 million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Libya, the US Embassy in Libya issued a statement denying the reports. “The report of alleged plans to relocate Gazans to Libya is untrue,” the embassy said on the X platform on Sunday.

Similarly, the State Department and National Security Council spokespersons said that “these reports are untrue,” adding, “The situation on the ground is untenable for such a plan. Such a plan was not discussed and makes no sense,” according to NBC News.

As per the news outlet, the plan involves complex negotiations with Libya’s leadership and potentially releasing billions of dollars in frozen funds in exchange for hosting Palestinians.

High-level discussions and financial incentives

Sources revealed, according to the news report, that the administration has seriously considered the plan, engaging directly with Libyan officials. In exchange for resettling Palestinians, the US might release billions in funds frozen for over a decade. Israel has been kept informed about these talks, according to three people with knowledge of the discussions, the news report stated.

Hamas and Palestinian response

Basem Naim, a senior Hamas official, dismissed any knowledge of the relocation plan. “Palestinians are very rooted in their homeland, very strongly committed to the homeland and they are ready to fight up to the end and to sacrifice anything to defend their land, their homeland, their families, and the future of their children,” Naim told NBC News.

He stressed, “[Palestinians] are exclusively the only party who have the right to decide for the Palestinians, including Gaza and Gazans, what to do and what not to do.”

Trump’s vision for Gaza’s future

The proposed relocation plan fits within President Donald Trump’s broader vision for Gaza. Trump has stated a goal of “owning” and rebuilding Gaza as “the Riviera of the Middle East,” a plan that would require Palestinians to be permanently resettled elsewhere.

“You can’t live in Gaza right now, and I think we need another location. I think it should be a location that’s going to make people happy,” Trump said in February during a White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

He added, “You can’t be shot, not be killed, not be knifed to death like what’s happening in Gaza. I don’t think people should be going back to Gaza.”

Earlier, Trump suggested Egypt and Jordan as potential hosts for Gaza’s population, but both countries rejected the idea, calling it a form of ethnic cleansing. Syria has also been mentioned as a possible location amid renewed US efforts to restore diplomatic ties following the ouster of Bashar al-Assad.