Far-fetched as Mr. Trump’s vision for Gaza may be — the Arab world has roundly rejected it and any forcible removal of a population violates international law — it abruptly shifted attention away from the future of the cease-fire deal, whose initial, six-week phase is due to end in early March.

"The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting. The Palestinians ... would have already been resettled in far safer and more beautiful communities, with new and modern homes, in the region," Trump said in a Truth Social post building on his controversial comments about Gaza's future this week.