US President Donald Trump has launched a plan to "clean up" Gaza and said he wants Egypt and Jordan to welcome Palestinians from the territories in a bid to establish peace in the Middle East. "We're talking about 1.5 million people, and we're going to clean up everything," Trump told reporters, calling Gaza a "demolition site" and saying the move could be "temporary or long-term." The plan, however, has not gone down well with Al Sisi's government, which has rejected the tycoon's idea.

The White House has ordered the Pentagon to lift the Biden administration's blockade of supplies of 2,000-pound bombs (about 900 kg) to Israel . Biden's halt last May triggered one of the biggest crises in US-Israel relations during the 15-month war in Gaza. The Tel Aviv government was informed of the lifting of the ban by the Pentagon yesterday, an Israeli official said.

The sources said that 1,800 MK-84 bombs, which were stored in US stockpiles, will be loaded onto a ship and delivered to Israel in the coming days .

(Unioneonline/L)