At least 80 people have been killed in the latest wave of Israeli airstrikes and artillery shelling across Gaza, as ceasefire negotiations stall and U.S. President Donald Trump draws global condemnation for suggesting the U.S. “take” Gaza and transform it into a “freedom zone.”
Speaking during his Middle East tour in Qatar, Trump reiterated a controversial proposal he first outlined in February, an American-led redevelopment of Gaza as a luxury business and leisure destination. Critics have slammed the idea as a thinly veiled call for the displacement of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents.
“I have concepts for Gaza that I think are very good,” Trump said. “Make it a freedom zone… I’d be proud to have the United States have it, take it, make it a freedom zone.”
Hamas swiftly rejected the remarks. “Gaza is an integral part of Palestinian land, it is not real estate for sale on the open market,” said senior Hamas official Basem Naim. “We are prepared to make every sacrifice to preserve our homeland and secure our people’s future.”
Trump’s remarks came amid escalating violence. Palestinian officials reported that Thursday’s strikes killed as many as 120 people, the deadliest surge since Israel resumed its offensive following a collapsed ceasefire in March.
Humanitarian situation reaches dire levels in Gaza
In Gaza, the humanitarian situation has reached dire levels. Nearly half a million people are at risk of starvation, with food and fuel stocks nearly depleted. Human Rights Watch condemned Israel’s blockade as “a tool of extermination” and warned that plans to compress Gaza’s population into smaller zones while rendering other areas uninhabitable could amount to war crimes.
The Israeli government, maintaining that Hamas exploits aid deliveries, has proposed a controversial system of humanitarian “hubs” managed by private contractors and protected by Israeli forces. The U.S.-based Gaza Humanitarian Foundation claims it will begin implementing the program by month’s end, though aid agencies and Gulf donors have dismissed the plan as unworkable and dangerous.
Meanwhile, violence also erupted in the occupied West Bank. A nine-month pregnant Israeli woman was shot and killed on her way to the hospital in a suspected Palestinian gun attack. Hamas praised the shooting as “heroic,” though it did not claim responsibility. The Israeli army later killed five Palestinians during a raid in the village of Tammun.
The Israeli offensive began in October 2023 following a deadly Hamas attack that left 1,200 Israelis dead and 251 hostages taken. Since then, Israel’s retaliatory campaign has claimed over 52,000 lives in Gaza, according to the territory’s health ministry, figures considered reliable by the UN.
Trump’s omission of Israel from his current regional itinerary was widely noted, signalling potential tension with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The U.S. president instead visited Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
Palestinians marked Nakba Day on Thursday, commemorating the 1948 mass displacement during Israel’s creation. “What we are experiencing now is even worse than the Nakba of 1948,” said Ahmed Hamad, a displaced resident of Gaza City. “Death surrounds us everywhere.”
As international pressure mounts for an end to the blockade and a lasting ceasefire, the prospects for peace remain bleak, and the people of Gaza continue to suffer under the weight of war and uncertainty.
