Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said Monday that the United States has “little or no desire” to control the Gaza Strip “in any way, shape, or form.”

"There is very little appetite in the Senate for US control of the Gaza Strip," added the conservative senator, who is known for his strong loyalty to Israel and the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC.

"One thing I want to say is that I have not seen any desire in the United States Senate for America to control Gaza in any way," Graham said at a news conference in Israel, standing among fellow senators from both parties.

Graham's comments come as US President Donald Trump has pushed forward his controversial plan for the United States to take control of war-torn Gaza and force the area's nearly two million Palestinians to resettle elsewhere.

“The United States will take control of Gaza, and we will do our job — whether we own it or not, and we will be responsible for dismantling all the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, leveling the site, getting rid of the destroyed buildings, leveling it,” Trump said at a joint White House news conference on February 4 with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“Creating economic development that will provide unlimited jobs and housing for the people of the area, doing real work, doing something different,” Trump said at the time, and he repeated in more than one statement that the Palestinians must leave the Gaza Strip and never return to it.

Graham, a close Trump ally who has worked extensively with leaders in the region, said at the news conference that he had spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other government officials about Trump's Gaza plan.

"If they (the Palestinians) want to, I support that, but it is not about leaving by force. I will work with Israel to find countries (to which to displace the Palestinians)," the Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth quoted Graham as saying.

"Their view is that the Palestinians should be given the opportunity to leave if they wish, and I support that," Graham said of his talks with Israeli officials.

Graham explained that it is up to the Palestinians to decide whether to leave.

"I will work with Israel to find countries that will host Palestinians if they choose to leave, but we are not talking about forced displacement by Israel or anyone else," Graham said.

A bipartisan U.S. Senate delegation, led by Graham and Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), also met with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar.

The delegation also included Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-CA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CA), Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ), and Deputy Special Presidential Envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus.

During the meeting, Sa'ar spoke about the situation in Gaza, saying that "the Palestinian state will become a Hamas state, which will put Israel at risk."

He also spoke about concerns about the Iranian threat, explaining that "Israel is committed to preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. There are worrying developments in the Iranian nuclear project, stemming from Iran's desire to "compensate" for its weak regional power in the war by obtaining nuclear weapons."

Sa'ar claimed that there is "an intensive Iranian effort to smuggle money into Lebanon to restore Hezbollah's strength and status. This effort is being carried out, among other channels, through Turkey and in cooperation with it."

He stressed that "rehabilitating Hezbollah would harm Lebanon's chances for a different and better future, as well as the ability of the Lebanese army to be the dominant military force in the country. Therefore, it must be stopped."