Five Arab foreign ministers and a senior Palestinian official sent a joint letter to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio opposing plans to displace Palestinians from Gaza, as proposed by President Donald Trump in late December.

The letter was sent on Monday and was signed by the foreign ministers of Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, as well as the Palestinian president's adviser, Hussein al-Sheikh.

The message was originally reported by Axios, which said the top diplomats met in Cairo over the weekend.

Trump first floated the proposal by Jordan and Egypt to accept Palestinians from Gaza on January 25. When asked if he was proposing it as a long-term or short-term solution, the president said: “It could be either.”

The US president's comments echoed long-standing Palestinian fears of being permanently expelled from their homes and were described by critics as a proposal for ethnic cleansing. Jordan, Egypt and other Arab states opposed the proposal.

“Reconstruction in Gaza must take place through direct engagement with the people of Gaza,” the letter said. “Palestinians will live on their land and help rebuild it, and they should not be stripped of their agency during reconstruction. They must take responsibility for the process with the support of the international community.”

The Israeli military assault on Gaza has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry, and has led to accusations of genocide and war crimes against Israel. The fighting has now stopped amid a ceasefire that has held since January 19, with four prisoner exchanges between Hamas and Israel completed.

Israel claims that Hamas's attack in Operation Flood of Al-Aqsa on October 7, 2024, killed 1,200 people, including 311 soldiers on active duty, and led to Hamas detaining 250 Israelis who were taken to Gaza.