The Trump administration is working on a plan to permanently relocate as much as one million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Libya, NBC News reported on Friday (May 16), citing five people with knowledge of the matter, Reuters reports.
Citing two people with direct knowledge and a former U.S. official, NBC also reported that the plan is under serious enough consideration that the U.S. has discussed it with Libya's leadership. In exchange for resettling the Palestinians, the administration would release to Libya billions of dollars of funds the U.S. froze more than a decade ago, according to NBC and citing the same three people.
At least 2,985 Palestinians had been killed and 8,173 others injured since Israel renewed its intensive strikes, bringing the total death toll since October 2023 to 53,119, and injuries to 120,214, the Gaza-based health authorities said on Friday.
According to information released by the Civil Defense in Gaza on Friday, the Palestinian death toll from Israeli attacks in the northern Gaza Strip has surpassed 100 during the past 12 hours.
In a statement later in the day, the Gaza health authorities confirmed that at least 109 deaths and 216 injuries had been transferred to hospitals on Friday.
Mahmoud Basal, a spokesperson for the Civil Defense in Gaza, said in a statement that it was "a difficult and bloody day for the northern Gaza Strip."
According to Palestinian medical sources, most of the victims were women and children.
Eyewitnesses and security sources reported that Israeli air and ground raids continued unabated since the early hours of the morning, targeting residential homes and shelters in Jabalia and Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip. Some victims remain under the rubble where medical crews were unable to reach, they added.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Friday that with the direction of intelligence, its troops are continuing their operational activity against the militant groups in the Gaza Strip, striking "over 150 terror targets" across the territory, including anti-tank missile posts, terrorist cells, military structures, and operational centers.
