The Trump administration is reportedly working on a surprising and controversial plan. The idea is to move up to 1 million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Libya, a country in North Africa. Though no final decision has been made, the plan is serious enough that U.S. officials have already spoken with Libyan leaders about it.
According to people familiar with the talks, the U.S. may release billions of dollars in frozen Libyan funds in exchange for taking in the Palestinians. These funds had been blocked by the U.S. government over ten years ago. It seems the Trump team is thinking of offering these frozen funds as a kind of deal to get Libya to agree to the resettlement plan.
Even though the idea has been discussed behind closed doors, it is not clear whether Israel has been asked to approve it, though sources say they are being kept updated. Meanwhile, some parts of the U.S. government, including the State Department, have denied the plan. One spokesperson said the idea “makes no sense” and called the report “untrue.”
In Gaza, leaders say they know nothing about this idea. A senior leader in the area said that the people of Gaza are deeply connected to their homeland and are not likely to leave it willingly.
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Major Challenges in Libya
Libya is far from an ideal place for such a huge relocation. The country has been unstable for years. It has two rival governments that are still fighting each other. One is in the west of Libya, and the other controls the east. There is no peace or full control by either side, making the situation risky and chaotic.
Libya’s current population is around 7.36 million people. If 1 million more were to arrive, that would be a huge increase—more than 13% extra people. In U.S. terms, it would be like adding over 46 million people all at once. This would place an enormous strain on Libya’s already fragile resources, healthcare, and housing systems.
So far, it’s not clear where in Libya the Palestinians would live. U.S. officials are considering different ways to transport people there, including airplanes, ships, and buses. But each of these methods comes with big problems.
For example, the Airbus A380, the largest passenger airplane in the world, can carry about 850 people. It would take over 1,100 flights to move 1 million people. Gaza doesn’t even have an airport, so everyone would first have to travel to Cairo, Egypt, which is 200 miles away.
Driving people over land would take them on a 1,300-mile journey from Gaza to Benghazi, Libya’s second-largest city. Buses can only carry around 55 people each, so this method would also be slow and difficult.
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Ferries could carry up to 2,000 people at a time, but that would still mean hundreds of long, expensive sea trips. Weather, safety, and political issues could all cause more delays.
Trump’s Postwar Gaza Vision
This relocation idea is part of a larger plan that former President Donald Trump has talked about for postwar Gaza. He has shared a vision of turning the land into a beautiful place like a seaside resort, calling it the “Riviera of the Middle East.” But to make this dream happen, he believes Palestinians should be resettled somewhere else permanently.
In one meeting, Trump said people should live “in nice homes” where they wouldn’t be hurt or killed. He added that Gaza is too dangerous for people to return to, suggesting it’s better to find a “happy” new place for them.
However, this idea was a surprise to many in the U.S. government, even to some of Trump’s closest advisors. Arab countries and U.S. lawmakers from both parties have criticized the plan, calling it “problematic” and warning that it could lead to more problems instead of peace.
At the same time, Trump’s team has looked at other countries besides Libya. Syria, which now has new leadership, is also being discussed as another possible place for relocation. The Trump administration has even started talks about rebuilding ties with Syria and lifting sanctions there.
But so far, no country has agreed to take in such a large number of Palestinians, and many important details of the plan remain unclear.