Top US officials walk back parts of Trump's plan to 'take over' Gaza

Contacts and negotiation on the second phase have begun,

Hamas spokesperson Abdel-Latif Al-Qanoua said, without providing further details

We are hopeful. We want to bring back all of our family members, and we need to make sure that Israel's security can be guarded."

Despite this, she said

Beyond that, I think the administration will be looking toward building on the end of the Gaza war, ultimately to promote regional normalization, but that's as far as I'm able to go in terms of how we're seeing the peace process,

a senior administration official said Tuesday morning

We've had a year and a half of policies toward Israel that, I think, only prolonged this war and made it something that went on much longer than it should have been,

the second official said

On the relocation, I think President Trump looks at the Gaza Strip and sees it as a demolition site, sees it as impractical for it to be rebuilt within three to five years, believes it will take at least 10 to 15, and thinks it's inhumane to force people to live in an uninhabitable plot of land with unexploded ordnance and rubble,

the official added

You'll need things like a geotechnical survey,

she said

This is not going to be something that the United States is going to solve alone and that we're going to impose on Arab and Israel, but rather, we're asking our friends, and partners, and allies to come together as we look for what solutions we can provide that would be humane and would provide dignity for the Palestinian people,

she said