GNU denies reports the US plans to resettle one million Palestinians in Libya

May 16, 2025 | International actors

On 16 May, America’s NBC News reported that the Trump administration is working on a ‘plan’ to permanently relocate up to 1 million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Libya in exchange for the potential release of billions of dollars of frozen Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) assets held in the U.S. as an incentive. Prior to the leak, there were already discussions with Libyan and Israeli leadership.

According to NBC News’ subsequent reports, the plan faces significant obstacles, including substantial costs, logistical challenges related to transportation (air, land, and sea), and the potential strain on Libya’s fragile infrastructure, given its population size and the ongoing war and bifurcation of institutions. Arab nations have also been extremely critical of the idea.

The specifics of implementation, including resettlement locations and transportation methods, remain unclear, with various options being considered but deemed complex and time-consuming. The NBC News report was based on information from two people with direct knowledge of the plans and from a former U.S. official.

On 17 May, the Government of National Unity (GNU) Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement, emphasizing that the GNU has already expressed its unequivocal rejection of any resettlement of Palestinians or migrants in Libya.

On 18 May, the U.S. embassy released a brief statement that ‘The report of alleged plans to relocate Gazans to Libya is untrue.’ It quoted NBC News on a statement of a ‘spokesperson’ of the U.S. Government who told NBC News that ‘these reports are untrue.’ Furthermore, he said, ‘The situation on the ground is untenable for such a plan. Such a plan was not discussed and makes no sense.’