'I live in Gaza and I'd take Donald Trump's offer to live in Somalia and Sudan'
EXCLUSIVE: The Palestinian man living in Gaza said many people were talking about hoping to leave the territory, even if it meant heading to a war torn country.
A man living in Gaza has claimed people in the territory would consider moving to dangerous war-ravaged countries like Sudan or Somalia because it would give them "freedom" and "hope". US President Donald Trump's administration and Israel had reportedly approached Sudan, Somalia, and Somaliland, with plans to resettle people from Gaza, despite all three nations being considered unstable and dangerous.
Speaking anonymously to Express.co.uk, a resident of the Palestinian territory said: "For the people around me the most important news we talk about is learning what countries are willing to host Gazans. Even if these countries are not good countries, and the situation in them is not good, they say it will be better than life here because even animals can't live in Gaza now."
It's been reported the US and Israel reached out to officials of the three East African governments to discuss using their territories as potential destinations for moving Palestinians uprooted from the Gaza Strip under President Donald Trump’s proposed postwar plan. It's understood Sudan has rejected the initial approaches.
Under Trump’s proposal, Gaza’s more than two million people would be permanently sent elsewhere. He has proposed the US would take ownership of the territory, oversee a lengthy cleanup process and develop it as a real estate project.
Asked if he and his friends and family would consider going to any of the countries suggested by Mr Trump, the man, who was speaking thanks to the efforts of the Center for Peace Communications, added: "I talked about this precise topic with a friend, and my friend convinced me that even if we have to go to Sudan or Somalia, we should go for it, because of a very important reason, freedom.
"Sudan or Somalia would be fine as a first destination, because at least we could have hope in our future."
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Israel ended its ceasefire with Hamas, the terror group which controls Gaza, with surprise strikes that killed hundreds of people in the territory.
Israel has vowed to escalate the war until Hamas returns 59 hostages it still holds, with 24 of them believed to be alive, and Israeli officials are demanding that Hamas, which has vowed to destroy Israel, must give up power, disarm and send its leaders into exile.
Hamas has said it will only release the remaining captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
Gaza's Hamas-run Health Ministry claims Israel's offensive in the Strip has killed over 50,000 people and wounded 114,000. The ministry does not say how many of those killed were civilians or combatants.
Hamas started the current war after it launched a surprise terror attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking more than 250 hostages.
The ministry claimed on Friday that nearly 900 have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire ended in mid-March, including more than 40 over the past 24 hours.
