Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas and the armed group Hamas pledged on Sunday to oppose any plans for forcibly moving Gazans from their homes. This statement came after US President Donald Trump suggested a plan to "clear out" the conflict-stricken area.

At the same time, Palestinian sources indicated that progress might be made in resolving a disagreement over hostage-prisoner exchanges under the Israel-Hamas truce deal. If resolved, it could allow the large crowds of Palestinians stranded on a coastal road to return to northern Gaza. In the very latest exchange, 4 Israeli woman hostages, all soldiers were swapped. Similarly, 200 prisoners, almost all Palestinian were freed on Saturday. This was the second exchange of this kind under the fragile truce, which is now in its second week. Trump claimed that Gaza was now a "demolition site" following 15 months of fighting and mentioned that he had discussed evicting Palestinians from the region with King Abdullah II of Jordan. "I'd like Egypt to take people. And I'd like Jordan to take people," Trump told reporters.

According to his office, Abbas, who is headquartered in the West Bank, which is under Israeli occupation, "expressed strong rejection and condemnation of any projects" that would force Palestinians to leave Gaza. It further stated that the Palestinian people "will not abandon their land and holy sites." As they have done to similar plans "for displacement and alternative homelands over the decades," Palestinians would "foil such projects," Bassem Naim, a member of Hamas' political bureau, said AFP.

Trump's proposal was deemed "deplorable" by Islamic Jihad, which has fought with Hamas in Gaza. Any attempt to relocate Palestinians from Gaza would bring up painful memories of what the Arab world refers to as the "Nakba," or catastrophe, which was the mass exodus of Palestinians during the establishment of Israel in 1948. "We say to Trump and the whole world: we will not leave Palestine or Gaza, no matter what happens," said displaced Gaza resident Rashad al-Naji.

"You're talking about probably a million and half people, and we just clean out that whole thing," Trump told reporters Saturday aboard Air Force One. Moving Gaza's roughly 2.4 million inhabitants could be done "temporarily or could be long term", he said. Trump's proposal was referred to as "a great idea" by Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has expressed support for the re-establishment of Israeli settlements in Gaza and rejected the peace agreement. A warning against "attempts to uproot the Palestinian people from their land" prompted the Arab League to reject the proposal. "The forced displacement and eviction of people from their land can only be called ethnic cleansing", the league said in a statement.

"Our rejection of the displacement of Palestinians is firm and will not change," stated Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi. Palestine is for Palestinians, whereas Jordan is for Jordanians. According to Egypt's foreign ministry, any violation of the "inalienable rights" of Palestinians is unacceptable.

Most residents of Gaza have been displaced due to the war that started after Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023. In Gaza, roads near the Netzarim Corridor are crowded with cars and carts carrying people’s belongings, but Israel has blocked the area, preventing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from returning to northern Gaza. Israel stated it would not allow people to return until Hamas releases Arbel Yehud, an Israeli civilian woman held hostage.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office accused Hamas of breaking the truce by not releasing Yehud or providing a "detailed list of all hostages' statuses." Hamas, in response, claimed that Israel’s action of blocking returns to northern Gaza was a truce violation. They also said they had already given "all the necessary guarantees" for Yehud's release. Later, two Palestinian sources told AFP that Yehud would be released within a few days. "The crisis has been resolved," said one Palestinian source familiar with the issue.

In the first phase of the Gaza truce, 33 hostages are expected to be released gradually over six weeks. In exchange, about 1,900 Palestinians currently in Israeli jails will be freed. Dani Miran, whose son Omri is among the hostages but not scheduled for release in this phase, protested outside Prime Minister Netanyahu's office in Jerusalem on Sunday. "We want the agreement to continue and for them to bring our children back as quickly as possible -- and all at once," he said. The UN claims that "the humanitarian situation remains dire" despite the fact that the truce has sent a flood of food, gasoline, medications, and other relief into Gaza, which is heavily damaged. During Hamas's attack on October 7, 2023, 251 hostages were taken, and 87 are still in Gaza. Of these, 34 are confirmed dead, according to the Israeli military. The attack led to the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, based on official Israeli figures compiled by AFP.

In response, Israel's military actions in Gaza have caused at least 47,306 deaths, the majority being civilians, according to the health ministry in Gaza, which is managed by Hamas. These numbers are considered reliable by the United Nations. Israel also agreed to a ceasefire with Hezbollah, Hamas's ally in Lebanon. This agreement included a condition for Israeli forces to withdraw by Sunday, but the withdrawal has not occurred yet. Meanwhile, Lebanon's health ministry reported that nearly two dozen people were killed by Israeli troops as they attempted to return to their homes near the border. The Israeli army said soldiers "fired warning shots" against "suspects".