The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, has said he strongly rejects President Donald Trump's proposal for the US to take over Gaza and resettle the 2.1 million Palestinians living there.
"We will not allow the rights of our people... to be infringed on," Abbas stressed, warning that Gaza was "an integral part of the State of Palestine" and forced displacement would be a serious violation of international law.
Hamas, whose 15-month war with Israel has caused widespread devastation, said Trump's plan would "put oil on the fire" in the region.
The idea has been rejected by countries in the region such as Jordan and Egypt, and key US allies, while the UN issued a warning against "any form of ethnic cleansing".
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said Gaza was an integral part of a future Palestinian state, telling a meeting in New York the rights of Palestinians to live as human beings in their own land was slipping further out of reach.
The world, he said, had "seen a chilling, systematic dehumanisation and demonisation of an entire people".
Saudi Arabia said Palestinians would "not move" from their land and it would not normalise ties with Israel without the establishment of a Palestinian state.
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Trump's proposal could "change history" and was "worth paying attention to".
Later on Wednesday, the White House sought to clarify President Trump's proposal, with spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt telling journalists the president was committed to rebuilding Gaza and "temporarily" relocating its residents. Trump said on Tuesday the displacement would be permanent.
She also said the president had not committed to sending US troops to Gaza.
Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage.
