'No one's expelling anyone from Gaza,' Trump says before meeting with Irish PM

Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin spoke on Gaza as well before his meeting with Trump, saying that aid needed to be surged into Gaza.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF MARCH 12, 2025 18:40 Updated: MARCH 12, 2025 19:07

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Micheal Martin in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 12, 2025. (photo credit: REUTERS/EVELYN HOCKSTEIN)

US President Donald Trump said that no one would be "expelled" from Gaza before his meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin on Wednesday at the White House.

"No one is expelling anyone from Gaza," Trump said in the statement alongside Martin.

Trump's remarks come after he made an initial proposal in February to relocate all residents from Gaza so that the US could take over the Strip and rebuild it.

Trump's proposal was welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was at the White House at the time it was made.

Martin spoke on Gaza as well before his meeting with Trump, saying that aid needed to be surged into Gaza.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold a joint press conference in the East Room at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 4, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/LEAH MILLIS)

Martin also called for a ceasefire and the release of all remaining hostages still held in Hamas captivity since the October 7 attacks in 2023 by the terror group. 

Israel-Ireland relations 

In December, Israel closed its embassy in Ireland, citing the country's "anti-Israel policies."

Ireland had previously said in May that it would recognize an independent Palestinian state.

Reuters contributed to this report.