Mossad chief visits Washington, seeking US support for Gazans' displacement to three countries

Mossad chief David Barnea visited Washington this week to seek its assistance in convincing countries to support a plan to deport Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, according to two informed sources, according to the American website Axios.

During his meeting with US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, Barnea informed the Israeli government that Israel is holding private talks with Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Libya on the matter.

Two sources familiar with the meeting said that Barnea informed Witkov that the three countries had expressed a preliminary willingness to resettle large numbers of Palestinians from Gaza, while suggesting that the United States offer incentives to those countries and help Israel persuade them.

For his part, Witkov has not expressed any commitment to this, and it is not clear whether Washington will actually intervene in this matter, according to one of the sources.

In February 2025, US President Donald Trump proposed a plan to deport Gazans from the Strip, but the White House backed down from the idea after receiving significant objections from Arab countries, according to US officials.

Axios quoted Israeli officials as saying that the Trump administration informed them that if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wanted to move forward with this plan, he would have to find countries that would agree to resettle Palestinians from Gaza. Netanyahu subsequently tasked the Mossad with searching for countries willing to settle large numbers of Palestinians to be displaced from the Strip.

Meanwhile, Israel is working on a plan to relocate Gaza's approximately two million residents to an area it has dubbed a "humanitarian city" in the southern part of the Strip, near the border with Egypt. This plan has raised concerns in Egypt and many Western countries, amid fears that Israel is preparing for the mass expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza, a goal long sought by Netanyahu's far-right partners.

Axios reported that although the Israeli government claims that any displacement will be "voluntary," this description is almost meaningless under the current circumstances.

During Netanyahu's recent visit to Washington, Trump was asked about the issue and referred the question to Netanyahu, who said that Israel is working "very closely" with the United States to find countries that will agree to resettle Palestinians from Gaza. He added, "We are close to reaching an agreement with several countries," according to Axios.

Netanyahu added, "I think Trump has a smart vision. It's called freedom of choice. If people want to stay, they can stay, but if they want to leave, they should be able to. It shouldn't be a prison."

An Israeli official stated after the meeting between Trump and Netanyahu that the US president expressed interest in continuing to push for the "deportation" of Palestinians from Gaza.