In Santo Domingo on February 6, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed his concern about the current state of Gaza, stating that it is "not habitable" due to risks like unexploded weapons. He suggested that residents would need to relocate while efforts are made to rebuild the area. Rubio, speaking in the Dominican Republic, urged other nations to contribute to Gaza's reconstruction without specifying whether Palestinians could return under a proposal by U.S. President Donald Trump to oversee development in the Gaza Strip. Rubio emphasized, "In order to fix a place like that, people are going to have to live somewhere else in the interim."