The White House and Israeli officials have quietly reached out to Syria’s new regime about taking in Gaza’s residents.

Sources with direct knowledge of the matter tell CBS that Trump officials dispatched intermediaries to float the idea to newly installed Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa. The idea of Gazan resettlement in another country is one of several options the Trump team is considering as part of rebuilding the devastated enclave. And it doesn’t stop with Syria. Both governments have also reached out to Somalia and Sudan as well.

However, Somalia’s ambassador in Washington, Dahir Hassan, quickly rejected the report, insisting that “neither the U.S. administration nor Israeli authorities have /approached the Somali government regarding any proposed relocation of Palestinians.”

A UN assessment from January found that more than 90% of homes across the territory have been damaged or destroyed since the war began after Hamas’ October 7th attack. Trump publicly floated the idea of resettling Gaza’s residents on February 4th when he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office.

“The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it too,” he stated. “We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings.”

At the time, President Trump tried courting Jordan and Egypt to no success. Despite sharing the only other border with Gaza, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt has largely rebuffed pressure to accept Arab refugees trying to escape Hamas’ genocidal war, calling it an unacceptable “act of injustice.”

“The constants of Egypt’s historic position on the Palestinian cause can never be compromised,” he said. “Regarding what is being said about the displacement of Palestinians, it can never be tolerated or allowed because of its impact on Egyptian national security.”

As an alternative, Egypt along with a host of other Arab countries are backing a sweeping $53 billion plan to reconstruct the war-torn territory, flush with a commercial harbor, technology district, beachfront hotels, and an airport.