Rubio urges regional powers to step up for Gaza rebuilding amid backlash to Trump's plan

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged regional countries to take the lead in rebuilding Gaza, as President Donald Trump's ownership plan for the coastal enclave faces widespread international condemnation.

"And right now, the only one who's stood up and said, 'I'm willing to help do it,' is Donald Trump," Rubio said during an interview with Scott Jennings on SiriusXM Patriot. "All these other leaders, they're going to have to step up. If they've got a better idea, then now is the time."

"Now is the time for the other governments and other powers in the region, some of these very rich countries, to basically say, okay, we'll do it. We're going to pay for this; we're going to step forward; we're going to be the ones that take charge. None of them is offering to do it," he added.

Top US diplomat said that countries publicly advocate for Palestinian rights but have yet to contribute to rebuilding Gaza.

Rubio defended Trump's direct approach, stating, "He's going to put out blunt truth".

"And the blunt truth is that the Middle East has, for too long, been a region of places all of whom love to talk but don't want to do. So, it's time-if they don't like Donald Trump's plan, then it's time for these countries in the region to step forward and offer their solution," said the top diplomat.

Asked whether the idea of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is no longer the policy of the United States, Rubio did not provide a direct answer.

Instead, he said: "I don't know how you're going to have peace if you're turning over territory to a group whose stated purpose is the destruction of the Jewish state."

Rubio's remarks came after President Donald Trump said in comments aired Monday that Palestinians who leave the besieged Gaza Strip under his widely panned ownership plan for the coastal enclave will not be allowed to return.

"We'll build safe communities a little bit away from where they are, where all of this danger is. In the meantime, I would own this. Think of it as a real estate development for the future, it would be a beautiful piece of land," Trump said during an interview with Fox News.

Asked directly by the interviewer if Palestinians would "have the right to return," Trump said flatly, "No, they wouldn't, because they're going to have much better housing."

TRUMP'S CONTROVERSIAL PLAN ON GAZA

Trump rolled out his proposal in the midst of an ongoing ceasefire that has halted Israel's war on Gaza after 15 months. His plan to take ownership of Gaza has been roundly rejected on the world stage, but Trump has insisted that he will see it through, repeatedly claiming he can force Egypt and Jordan to settle Palestinian refugees -- claims they have publicly rebuffed, as have the Palestinians.

Trump's plan shares strong similarities to one publicly put forward by his son-in-law Jared Kushner in March 2024, when the president's one-time advisor lauded the Palestinian territory's "very valuable" Mediterranean property.

"Gaza's waterfront property could be very valuable if people would focus on building up livelihoods," Kushner said during an interview at Harvard University. "It's a little bit of an unfortunate situation there, but I think from Israel's perspective I would do my best to move the people out and then clean it up."

Israel's war on Gaza has left the besieged enclave in ruins, with half of its housing damaged or destroyed and nearly 2 million people displaced amid severe shortages of sanitation, medical supplies, food, and clean water. Over 47,000 people have been killed.