This article was first published as World Affairs Briefing from The Conversation UK. Click here to receive this newsletter every Thursday, direct to your inbox.
Hundreds of thousands of civilians returned to the northern Gaza Strip this week after checkpoints were reopened in line with the ceasefire agreement. Many will have found their homes destroyed after months of heavy fighting and bombardment – something the new US president, Donald Trump, has pointed out.
In an exchange with reporters last weekend, Trump said: “I’m looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now and it’s a mess, it’s a real mess.” He then went on to suggest Palestinians there should be “evacuated” to Egypt and Jordan where “they could maybe live in peace for a change”. “You’re talking about a million and a half people … we just clean out that whole thing,” he continued.