Donald Trump has said America will “take over the Gaza Strip” and turn it into “the Riviera of the Middle East”.

The president made the startling comments at a White House press conference alongside Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

He described Gaza as a “hell hole” and insisted its inhabitants could go and live in nearby countries such as Lebanon and Egypt - a suggestion which has already been rejected by those countries’ leaders.

Trump said: “The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we’ll do a job with it too. We’ll own it.”

According to the BBC, he later said: “Owning that piece of land, developing it, creating thousands of jobs. It really will be magnificent. Everyone loves the idea.”

Asked by a reporter who he saw living there instead of the Palestinians, Trump said: “People living there. The world’s people.”

The president added: “I don’t want to be cute. I don’t want to be a wiseguy. But this could be the Riviera of the Middle East.”

Netanyahu - the first foreign leader to visit Trump since his inauguration last month - described the president as “the greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White House”.

The Israeli PM said Trump “sees a different future for Gaza”.

“I think it’s something that could change history,” he added.