Doha: Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem on Thursday warned that US President Donald Trump's plan to take over Gaza and displace its people was a "declaration of intent to occupy" the Palestinian territory.
The Palestinian group also called for "an urgent Arab summit to confront the displacement" of Palestinians from Gaza, Qassem said in a statement.
Trump, meanwhile, doubled down on the shock plan he first announced on Tuesday and on his proposal to resettle two million Palestinians elsewhere in the Middle East.
"The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting," Trump said on his Truth Social network.
"No soldiers by the US would be needed! Stability for the region would reign!!!" Hamas's spokesman condemned Trump's statements as "absolutely unacceptable".
"Gaza is for its people and they will not leave," Qassem said.
"We call for the convening of an emergency Arab summit to confront the displacement project," he added.
"Trump's remarks about Washington taking control of Gaza amount to an open declaration of intent to occupy the territory.
"We do not need any country to run the Gaza Strip and we do not accept replacing one occupation with another.
Egypt rejects and will not be part of any proposal to displace Palestinians from Gaza, its foreign ministry said on Thursday, following President Donald Trump's plan for the US to take over the enclave and his call to Egypt to take in resettled Palestinians.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz ordered the army on Thursday to prepare a plan to allow for the voluntary departure of Gaza residents from the strip, Israeli media reported.
Apparently referring to Katz's order, the ministry said: "Egypt stresses the catastrophic consequences of this irresponsible act which weakens the ceasefire negotiations, and would squash them and incite a return of fighting."
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas rejected the proposal, calling it a "serious violation" of international law and insisting that "legitimate Palestinian rights are not negotiable".
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres emphasised "the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people... to simply live as human beings in their own land".
His spokesman Stephane Dujarric, when asked about Trump's plan, said: "Any forced displacement of people is tantamount to ethnic cleansing." Israel's military offensive in response to Hamas's attack has left much of Gaza in ruins, including schools, hospitals and most civil infrastructure.
Human Rights Watch said the destruction of Gaza "reflects a calculated Israeli policy to make parts of the strip unliveable".
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said on Thursday that more than 10,000 aid trucks had crossed into Gaza since the truce went into effect, calling it "a massive surge". — AFP and Reuters
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
