At the charity kitchen in Beit Lahiya, the hungry crowd of men, women and children jostled for position, holding out empty pots and plastic containers high in the air for a few ladles of watery vegetable soup.

President Donald Trump said the US should control Gaza and turn it into a “freedom zone.” He suggested his administration could oversee reconstruction efforts in the war-damaged area. His comments follow ongoing destruction after the October 2023 attack.

Trump first floated the idea in February of a U.S. ownership of the beleaguered Gaza Strip to bring “peace” to what he described as a “demolition site.”

As a 4-year-old, Ghalia Abu Moteir was driven to live in a tent in Khan Younis after her family fled their home in what’s now Israel, escaping advancing Israeli forces.

When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the White House in February, Trump once again shared his vision for the war-torn location. “The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip. We’ll do a job with it. We will own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous bombs and other weapons,” he said.

Intensified hostilities continue in the Gaza Strip, bringing further death, displacement and destruction as the weeks-long aid blockade grinds on, the UN humanitarian affairs office (OCHA) said on Thursday.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday that Washington is "troubled" by the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, stressing the need to deliver aid into the enclave.

Fighting has surged again, border crossings are still closed and food is dangerously scarce, leaving Palestinian children facing catastrophic hunger.