Israel's Netanyahu signals he's moving ahead with Trump's idea to transfer Palestinians from Gaza

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday signaled that he was moving ahead with U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal to transfer the Palestinian population out of Gaza, calling it “the only viable plan to enable a different future" for the region.

Netanyahu discussed the plan with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who kicked off a Middle East visit by endorsing Israel's war aims in Gaza, saying Hamas “must be eradicated.” That created further doubt around the shaky ceasefire as talks on its second phase are yet to begin.

Rubio, in his upcoming stops in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, is likely to face more pushback from Arab leaders over Trump's proposal, which includes redeveloping Gaza under U.S. ownership. Netanyahu has said all emigration from Gaza should be “voluntary,” but rights groups and other critics say that the plan amounts to coercion given the territory's vast destruction.

Netanyahu said he and Trump have a “common strategy” for Gaza. Echoing Trump, he said "the gates of hell would be open” if Hamas doesn't release dozens of remaining hostages abducted in the militant group's attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that triggered the 16-month war.

The ceasefire's first phase ends in two weeks. Negotiations were meant to begin two weeks ago on the second phase, in which Hamas would release dozens of remaining hostages in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting truce and the withdrawal of Israeli forces

Trump’s special Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, told Fox News that “phase two is absolutely going to begin” and he had ”very productive" calls Sunday with Netanyahu and officials from Egypt and Qatar, which serve as mediators, about continuing talks this week. He also said hostages to be released include 19 Israeli soldiers and “we believe all of them are alive."

Netanyahu's office said Israel's security Cabinet would meet Monday to discuss the second phase.

Trump later told journalists it is “up to Israel what the next step is, in consultation with me."

In another sign of closing ranks, Israel’s Defense Ministry said it received a shipment of 2,000-pound (900-kilogram) MK-84 munitions from the United States. The Biden administration paused a shipment of such bombs last year over concerns about civilian casualties in Gaza.

This week marks 500 days of the war. Netanyahu has signaled readiness to resume the fighting after the ceasefire's current phase, though it could be a death sentence for remaining hostages.

Rubio said peace becomes impossible as long as Hamas “stands as a force that can govern or as a force that can administer or as a force that can threaten by use of violence,” adding, “It must be eradicated.”

Hamas reasserted control over Gaza when the ceasefire began last month, despite suffering heavy losses.

Netanyahu has offered Hamas a chance to surrender and send top leaders into exile. Hamas has rejected that scenario and insists on Palestinian rule. Spokesman Abdul Latif al-Qanou told The Associated Press the group accepts a Palestinian unity government or a technocratic committee to run Gaza.

Netanyahu instructed negotiators to leave for Cairo on Monday to discuss further implementation of the ceasefire's first phase, as issues over delivery of shelter materials continue.

The Israeli military, meanwhile, said it carried out an airstrike on people who approached forces in southern Gaza. The Hamas-run Interior Ministry said it killed three of its police officers while they secured the entry of aid trucks near Rafah on the Egyptian border.

In an interview last week, Rubio indicated that Trump's Gaza proposal was in part aimed at pressuring Arab states to make their own postwar plan that would be acceptable to Israel.

Rubio also appeared to suggest that Arab countries send troops to combat Hamas.

“If the Arab countries have a better plan, then that’s great,” Rubio said Thursday on the “Clay and Buck Show.”

But “Hamas has guns,” he added. “Someone has to confront those guys. It’s not going to be American soldiers. And if the countries in the region can’t figure that piece out, then Israel is going to have to do it."

Rubio wasn't scheduled to meet with Palestinians on his trip.

For Arab leaders, facilitating the mass expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza or battling Palestinian militants on behalf of Israel are nightmare scenarios that would bring fierce domestic criticism and potentially destabilize an already volatile region.

Egypt hosts an Arab summit on Feb. 27 and is working with other countries on a counterproposal that would allow for Gaza's rebuilding without removing its population. Human rights groups say the expulsion of Palestinians would likely violate international law.

Egypt has warned that any mass influx of Palestinians from Gaza would undermine its nearly half-century peace treaty with Israel, a cornerstone of U.S. influence in the region.

The UAE and Saudi Arabia also have rejected any mass displacement of Palestinians.

The UAE was the driving force behind the 2020 Abraham Accords in which four Arab states — Bahrain, the UAE, Morocco and Sudan — normalized relations with Israel during Trump's previous term. Trump hopes to expand the accords to include Saudi Arabia, potentially offering closer U.S. defense ties, but the kingdom has said it won't normalize relations with Israel without a pathway to a Palestinian state.

Rubio won't be visiting Egypt or Jordan, close U.S. allies at peace with Israel that have refused to accept any influx of Palestinian refugees. Trump has suggested he might slash U.S. aid if they don’t comply, which could be devastating for their economies.

Rubio is also skipping Qatar.

Arab and Muslim countries have conditioned any support for postwar Gaza on a return to Palestinian governance with a pathway to statehood in Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories that Israel seized in the 1967 Mideast war.

Israel has ruled out a Palestinian state and any role in Gaza for the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, whose forces were driven out when Hamas seized power there in 2007.

Natalie Melzer reported from Nahariya, Israel. Associated Press writers Samy Magdy in Cairo and Darlene Superville in West Palm Beach, Florida, contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

An aerial photograph taken by a drone shows people walking between the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip, on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohammad Abu Samra)

An aerial photograph taken by a drone shows tents between the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip, on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohammad Abu Samra)

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, front center, accompanied by Chairman of Yad Vashem Dani Dayan, front right, and Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, left, tours Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, in Jerusalem, Israel, Sunday Feb. 16, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein, Pool Photo via AP)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, front right, lays a wreath before the Eternal Flame at the Hall of Remembrance at Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, in Jerusalem, Israel, Sunday Feb. 16, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein, Pool Photo via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a joint news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem, Israel, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg, pool)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a joint news conference with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem, Israel, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg,Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio signs the guest book during his meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem, Israel, Sunday Feb. 16, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein, Pool Photo via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio tours Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, in Jerusalem, Israel, Sunday Feb. 16, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein, Pool Photo via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands during a news conference at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem, Israel, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg,Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands as they make joint statements to the press at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem, Israel, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a joint news conference with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem, Israel, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, meets with Israeli president Isaac Herzog, right, in Jerusalem, Israel, Sunday Feb. 16, 2025. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio hugs Israeli president Isaac Herzog, back to the camera, as they meet in Jerusalem, Israel, Sunday Feb. 16, 2025. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a joint news conference with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem, Israel, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attend a news conference at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem, Israel, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, shakes hands with Israeli President Isaac Herzog during their meeting in Jerusalem, Israel, Sunday Feb. 16, 2025. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, centre left, meets with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem, Israel, Sunday Feb. 16, 2025. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands during a news conference at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem, Israel, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attend a news conference at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem, Israel, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a joint news conference with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem, Israel, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a joint news conference with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem, Israel, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands during a news conference at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem, Israel, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands during a news conference at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem, Israel, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar shakes hands with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio as he arrives in Israel, on the first leg of his Middle East trip, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar welcomes U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio as he arrives in Israel, on the first leg of his Middle East trip, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Satruday, Feb. 15, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar welcomes U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio as he arrives in Israel, on the first leg of his Middle East trip, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar welcomes U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio as he arrives in Israel, on the first leg of his Middle East trip, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives in Israel on the first leg of his Middle East trip, as Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar waits to welcome him, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar shakes hands with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio as he arrives in Israel, on the first leg of his Middle East trip, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar welcomes U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio as he arrives in Israel, on the first leg of his Middle East trip, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)