Egypt will produce a "comprehensive vision" for how to reconstruct Gaza that does not include the removal of Palestinians from the enclave, the foreign ministry announced.
Leaders from Egypt and Jordan have rejected President Donald Trump's idea that both countries take in hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians while the United States leads a reconstruction effort in the Gaza Strip.
"The Arab Republic of Egypt emphasizes that any vision for resolving the Palestinian cause must take into account the need to avoid endangering the gains of peace in the region while simultaneously addressing the root causes of the conflict by ending Israel's occupation of Palestinian land and implementing the two-state solution as the only path to stability and coexistence among the region's peoples," the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
The ministry did not say when it would release the details of its plan but noted it would ensure "the Palestinian people remain in their homeland."
Under Trump's proposal, Jordan and Egypt would take in Palestinian refugees from Gaza as the U.S. takes control of the strip and begins a "long-term" infrastructure rebuilding project. Trump, who said the long-term goal would be the creation of the "Riviera of the Middle East," has said the Palestinians would not have the right to return to Gaza.
Arab leaders have widely criticized the plan and said they do not want to participate in the forced displacement of Palestinians out of their land and into their borders.
Trump met with King Abdullah II of Jordan at the White House earlier this week. Abdullah declined to address Trump's plans for Gaza directly and instead committed to taking 2,000 sick Palestinians for treatment within his country.
Israel's military has decimated the infrastructure in Gaza.
Trump administration officials have described the level of destruction as making the enclave "uninhabitable" and said the reconstruction effort could take 10-15 years. A recent report from the United Nations estimated it could cost more than $50 billion.
Israeli forces killed roughly 45,000 people in Gaza during the war, and about half of that total is believed to be civilians, Israeli officials have acknowledged.
The war began after Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack in southern Israel. Thousands of Hamas fighters and others overwhelmed Israel's border fence and killed roughly 1,200 people, including hundreds of civilians and children. Hamas also took roughly 250 people hostage that day.
Hamas has released about half the hostages it has agreed to release, 16 of 33, during the current ceasefire, which began last month and is set to end at the start of March. The terrorist group still holds about 80 hostages.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Hamas had threatened it would not hand over the next batch of hostages this weekend, which prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to prepare troops to "resume intense fighting until the final defeat of Hamas."
However, it looks like the swap will go forward now.