Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have wholeheartedly rejected US President Donald Trump's plans to "take over" the enclave and expel its citizens from there, vowing to never leave the ruins of their homes.
"Trump can go to hell, with his ideas, with his money, and with his beliefs. We are going nowhere. We are not some of his assets," said Samir Abu Basel in Gaza City via a chat app.
"If he wants to resolve this conflict he should take the Israelis and put them in one of the states (in America). They are the strangers, not the Palestinians. We are the owners of the land," said the father of five, who has been displaced from his house near Jabalia on Gaza's northern edge.
"He spoke with much arrogance...he can test us, and soon he will find out his fantasies don't work with us."
World leaders also continued to react. Germany's foreign minister Annalena Baerbock said that Gaza "belongs to the Palestinians".
"The civilian population of Gaza must not be expelled and Gaza must not be permanently occupied or repopulated," Baerbock said in a statement. "It is clear that Gaza -- like the West Bank and east Jerusalem -- belongs to the Palestinians. They form the basis for a future Palestinian state."
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer also echoed his German counterpart's sentiments, adding that Palestinians should be "allowed" to return home and rebuild.
Hamas, who govern Gaza, as well as other Arab leaders rejected Trump's shock proposal earlier, branding it a" racist" idea aimed at "eliminating" the Palestinian cause.
"The American racist stance aligns with the Israeli extreme right's position in displacing our people and eliminating our cause," Hamas spokesman Abdel Latif al-Qanou said in a statement.
Trump made his announcement to audible gasps during a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu late on Tuesday, whom he was hosting at the White House for talks.
Suggesting "long-term ownership" by the United States, Trump said his idea would make it "the Riviera of the Middle East. This could be something that could be so magnificent."