U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday he wants his country to take ownership of the Gaza Strip and redevelop it after Palestinians are displaced elsewhere.

"We will own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site," Trump said at the start of a joint news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"I do see a long-term ownership position," Trump said when asked about the U.S. controlling the territory for an extended period, adding that he is not ruling out sending U.S. troops in to secure Gaza.

He added the U.S. would level destroyed buildings and "create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area."

Trump suggested this would promote stability in the region and added: "This is not a decision made lightly."

"Everybody I've spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land."

The comments came after Trump earlier suggested that displaced Palestinians in Gaza be "permanently" resettled outside the war-torn territory.

"You can't live in Gaza right now. I think we need another location," Trump said earlier Tuesday.

"I think it should be a location that's going to make people happy. You look over the decades, it's all death in Gaza. This has been happening for years. It's all death. If we can get a beautiful area to resettle people, permanently, in nice homes where they can be happy and not be shot and not be killed and not be knifed to death like what's happening in Gaza."

WATCH | Palestinians return home:

Thousands of Palestinians return to destroyed homes in northern Gaza

Israel removed its blockades of northern Gaza, allowing thousands of Palestinians to return to their communities — even if their homes were destroyed. Meanwhile, families in Israel are waiting for word about if, and when, hostages will be released.

Trump has previously called on Jordan, Egypt and other Arab countries to take in Palestinians temporarily while Gaza is reconstructed after the devastating war between Hamas and Israel, which was paused in January by a ceasefire. Tuesday was the first time he has publicly floated making that resettlement permanent.

His proposals echo the wishes of Israel's far right and contradict former president Joe Biden's commitment against mass displacement of Palestinians.

Arab states and the Palestinian Authority have rejected the idea, which some human rights advocates have likened to ethnic cleansing.

Forced displacement of Gaza's population would likely be a violation of international law and would be fiercely opposed not only in the region but also by Washington's Western allies.

Palestinians claim Gaza as part of a future homeland, and many have indicated a desire to remain and rebuild.

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri condemned Trump's calls for Gazans to leave as "expulsion from their land."

"The people of Gaza will not allow such plans to pass," he said.

The war was sparked after a Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, killed about 1,200 people and took some 250 others captive, according to Israeli tallies. Nearly 100 hostages remain in Gaza.

Israel responded with an offensive that has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, and displaced the vast majority of Gaza's population.

Israel has faced accusations of genocide in Gaza because of the scale of death and destruction, which it rejects by saying it abides by international law and has a right to defend itself after the Hamas attack.

Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, the former Israeli defence minister, have been issued arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Threatens Iran with 'obliteration'

Also on Tuesday, Trump threatened Iran with "obliteration" should he be assassinated by the country, adding he's told his advisers to retaliate if that happens.

"If they did that, they would be obliterated," he said while signing an executive order calling for the U.S. government to impose maximum pressure on Tehran. "There won't be anything left."

Trump threatens Iran with 'obliteration' if he's assassinated: 

Trump threatens Iran with 'obliteration' if he's assassinated

U.S. President Donald Trump says he's given his advisers instructions to obliterate Iran if it assassinates him, saying 'there won't be anything left.' Trump's remarks came during an exchange with reporters Tuesday as he signed an executive order calling for the U.S. government to impose maximum pressure on Tehran.

The Justice Department filed federal charges in November over an alleged Iranian plot to kill Trump before the presidential election.

The department alleged Iranian officials had instructed Farhad Shakeri, 51, in September to focus on surveilling and ultimately assassinating Trump. Shakeri is still at large in Iran.

Mulls deporting U.S. prisoners

Trump also said he is studying the legality of sending dangerous convicts to prisons in other countries.

"If we had the legal right to do it, I'd do it in a heartbeat," he said. "I don't know that we do. We're looking at it right now."

Trump didn't say which countries might take U.S. prisoners.

But his comments come after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said El Salvador had offered to jail some violent American criminals and that the offer was "very generous" — even though it raised some legal concerns.