Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed claims that US President Donald Trump
suggested deploying American troops to Gaza.
On Tuesday
during a joint press conference with Netanyahu, Trump announced that “the US
will take over the Gaza Strip,” level the buildings destroyed in the war
between Israel and Hamas, and turn the territory into the “Riviera of the
Middle East.” When asked later by journalists whether he would send US troops
into the enclave, Trump stated he would “do what is necessary.”
Speaking to Fox
News on Thursday during a visit to Washington, the Israeli prime minister, was
asked during a live interview with Sean Hannity to comment on American media
speculation that Trump intended for the US to assume control of Gaza.
“Well, I don’t
think he talked about sending US troops to complete the job of destroying
Hamas,” Netanyahu replied, stressing “That’s our commitment, our job, and we’re
absolutely committed to it.”
Netanyahu also
cast doubt on whether Trump ever intended for the US to finance Gaza’s
reconstruction. “Neighboring states, wealthy states would do it,” he stated.
The US leader
also suggested that Palestinians should be relocated to nearby states, at the
expense of “neighboring countries of great wealth.”
Following
Trump’s remarks, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later clarified
that the US is “not going to pay for the rebuilding of Gaza” but will work with
regional partners on reconstruction. She also indicated that Trump has not
committed to sending US troops into the enclave.
Despite
international criticism, Netanyahu has praised Trump’s proposal, calling it
“remarkable.” Speaking to Hannity on Thursday, he claimed that the idea was
simply to allow Gazans who wanted to leave the territory the freedom to do so.
“I mean, what’s wrong with that? They can leave, they can then come back, they
can relocate and come back…” he argued.
Trump’s Gaza
proposals have triggered widespread condemnation, with world leaders and
humanitarian organizations warning of severe consequences for regional
stability and Palestinian rights.
Several nations,
including key US allies in the Middle East and Europe, have firmly opposed any
forced displacement of Palestinians or any radical restructuring of Gaza
without Palestinian consent. They argue that such moves could worsen the
humanitarian crisis and further destabilize an already volatile region.
Belal
Awad, Leo Erhadt and Ruwaida Amer
Despite
their coastal location, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip can only count on the
sea for part of their diet. Israeli warships blockade Gaza as part of its
overall siege of the strip, and in doing so prevent Palestinian fishermen from
venturing into deeper waters. Risking injury and death, which are routine,
Gaza’s fishermen persevere nonetheless—fighting to not only preserve their
livelihoods, but their heritage and identity as well. The Real News reports
from the Deir Al-Balah in the Gaza Strip.
Transcript
Ismail
Mohamed – Deir Al Balah, 35 years old:
The
sea means everything. You never grow tired of it.
For
us, it flows in our blood, the sea. We’re like fish; if we leave the sea, then
we die. We have t close to the sea. When we go east, we always return to the
sea. Our lives are completely tied to the sea.
The
sea is memories and stories.
Subhi
Mayek Abu Riyaleh – Muasker Al Shati’, 24 years old:
I
love the sea. I love the sea because I eat fish and do something good for
people
●
Did you inherit it?
●
Yes, yes. From my dad. My grandfather, too. My grandfather was a fisherman, my
father was a fisherman, and I became a fisher
Ismail
Mohamed – Deir Al Balah, 35 years old:
We
inherited this work from our fathers and forefathers. We’re close to the sea,
we’re close to the coast. So our whole lives are at sea. Since long ago, since
our forefathers, we’ve been fishermen
We
come to the sea every day; it’s our place of work. We’re here from sunrise to
sunset.
Subhi
Mayek Abu Riyaleh – Muasker Al Shati’, 24 years old:
At
5 o’clock in the morning, with the call to prayer, I come, sit here, and I make
a cup of coffee. I sit until the day arrives. I look to see if the cruiser is
here or not. If it’s here, I don’t go in; if it’s not, I go.
Ismail
Mohamed – Deir Al Balah, 35 years old:
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Our
biggest obstacle is Israel. The Israeli cruisers—as you can see—are in the sea.
24 hours, you’re under fire and shelling: there’s no merc
Every
day, we have the dead. We have the injured. Every day, every day. We have the
dead, we have the injured. You go in a little, and the cruiser will fire at you
with no prior warning
Subhi
Mayek Abu Riyaleh – Muasker Al Shati’, 24 years old:
From
the first month of war, they targeted all our boats across the whole of the
Gaza Strip. In Deir Balah, Rafah, Gaza
City, and Khan Yunis, they completely burned all of the boats. Completely
destroyed everything straight away.
We
fish along the coast, and then we run away. The cruiser comes and shoots at us,
and we run away from it. A cruiser, yes, and the destroyer. The destroyer comes
every day.
Ismail
Mohamed – Deir Al Balah, 35 years old:
What
is it doing? These people are fishermen. They’re earning a living, they’re just
getting their dai bread. The sea is forbidden. Fishing isn’t restricted; it’s
completely blocked.
It’s
forbidden for anyone to go in, forbidden to fish. You can see, the boats are
near the coast, around 500 meters away. Go further than this and you will die.
You expose yourself to danger; you expose yourself to death.
Subhi
Mayek Abu Riyaleh – Muasker Al Shati’, 24 years old:
But
why is it forbidden? We’re just civilians. We go in, we fish, and we leave. We
have nothing to with anything, we fish
and we leave
A
big, big, big, big danger! Only yesterday, my cousin was killed. In Gaza City,
in Gaza City. He was killed at sea.
Because
he wanted to feed his kids, and there’s no food in Gaza City. There’s no food,
so he was fishing and he was killed—him and the person with him. By the
destroyer
I
was exposed to danger twice, in Rafah, my big brother and I. I was lying on the
back of the boat, the shooting was at the sides: here and here, and in front of
the boat. The Israelis were seeing where they were shooting and what they were
doing. They wanted to kill us, that’s it.
Ismail
Mohamed – Deir Al Balah, 35 years old:
The
fisherman will tell you: “Dying at sea while getting food to feed my children
and my family is better than sitting at home waiting for my fate, waiting for a
missile or something.”
As
you know, our lives are in danger on top of danger. Danger of death. Maybe a
missile will get you, maybe a drone would hit you. Rest in peace!
Diesel
is cut, electricity is cut, water is cut, and fishing nets are cut. The
fiberglass that we nee repair the boats is not allowed in.
We
used to go far and catch large fish. Today, because we can’t go far into the
sea and we don’t have the fishing nets, and we don’t have proper boats either,
all our boats are broken, made of woo some are 20 years old.
So
we fish along the beach, we fish these small fish and crabs, that’
Subhi
Mayek Abu Riyaleh – Muasker Al Shati’, 24 years old:
Our
obstacle in this war is that there is fish in the sea, but it’s deeper, where
the cruiser is, where death is.
We
don’t go to death, we stay here along the beach. These days, small fish. We
sell 1kg for 10 sheke ($2.75): we let people eat. We make 20 ($5.50) or 30
($8.20) shekels to be able to survive today. Tomorrow, God will provide.
Ismail
Mohamed – Deir Al Balah, 35 years old:
There’s
no space. All of Gaza is full of refugees. There’s no free land, so people come
to the sea—you can see. The sea washes their tents away every day. They moved
into the fishing shack
These
shacks used to be where we left our boats and things, so we emptied them. Of
course, half of them are burnt, half of them are bombed out. The refugees are
living there.
There’s
not a single meter in Gaza—or in the south—that you can step on. It’s all
refugees and tents. People run away from the east, from death, they come to the
sea. The fisherman moves them along then they get killed by an airstrike.
We
run away from death only to find death. We run away from the airstrikes, only
to get swallowed by the sea. Inland, there is nothing, only death and
airstrikes.
A
person is unsafe in his own home, so we come and pour our problems into the
sea, we complain to the sea.
I’m
telling you, the people of Gaza, in general, are like fish—if they leave the
sea, they die. We ha lived at sea, we were raised by the sea, we learned at
sea, and we will stay at sea.
The
sea runs in our blood. It runs in our veins, the sea. If we lived to the east,
we would die.
All
of Gaza’s people are like this. Geographically, the Gaza Strip is along the
coast. We don’t have rivers, or fancy hotels, or attractions like other people.
We have only the sea.
●
It’s the only respite?
●
It’s the only respite, the first and the las
The
war has destroyed us. We no longer know if we will see each other tomorrow or
not.
Today,
every step is a blessing, as they say. And in this sea, we witness death in it
with our own eyes every day.
Will
we return to our homes or not? Will we see our young ones or not?
The
best thing about fishing? It’s that you don’t see anyone. You pour all your
worries into the se and you get a break from people.
That’s
the best thing about fishing
Subhi
Mayek Abu Riyaleh – Muasker Al Shati’, 24 years old:
The
best thing? We get a lot of patience being at the sea.
That’s
it.
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