Jordan's King Abdullah II on Tuesday told President Donald Trump that his country would take in approximately 2,000 sick children from the war-torn Gaza Strip as Trump pushed his plan to take over the territory while permanently relocating Palestinians.
Speaking at the White House, Abdullah added that Egypt would present a proposal on how countries in the region could "work" with Trump on the plan, despite Arab nations and the Palestinians having rejected it outright.
"I think one of the things that we can do right away is take 2,000 children, cancer children who are in a very ill state, that is possible," Abdullah said as Trump welcomed him and Crown Prince Hussein in the Oval Office.
Trump called it a "beautiful gesture" and said he didn't know about it before the Jordanian monarch's arrival at the White House.
Trump meanwhile backed down on a suggestion that he could withhold aid for Jordan and Egypt if they refused to take in more than two million Palestinians from Gaza.
"I think we'll do something," he said. "I don't have to threaten that, I do believe we're above that."
Trump announced last week a proposal for the U.S. to "take over" Gaza, envisioning rebuilding the devastated territory into the "Riviera of the Middle East" - but only after resettling Palestinians elsewhere, with no plan for them to return.
Jordan's Abdullah was repeatedly pressed by reporters on whether he supported the plan, but said only that Egypt was producing a response and that Arab nations would then discuss it at talks in Riyadh.
"The president is looking at Egypt coming to present that plan ... (then) we will be in Saudi Arabia to discuss how we should work with the president and with the United States," Abdullah said.
"The point is, how do we make this work in a way that is good for everybody."
After the meeting, he took a somewhat firmer position in a post on X when describing his time with Trump: “I reiterated Jordan’s steadfast position against the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.”
“This is the unified Arab position. Rebuilding Gaza without displacing the Palestinians and addressing the dire humanitarian situation should be the priority for all,” Abdullah wrote.
The meeting came as the Gaza ceasefire appears increasingly fragile, after Trump warned on Monday that "all hell" would break out if Hamas fails to release all hostages by Saturday.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday said Israel would resume "intense fighting" in Gaza if Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists did not meet the deadline.
Trump said he doubted that Hamas would abide by the ultimatum.
"I don't think they're going to make the deadline personally. I think they want to play a tough guy, but we'll see how tough they are," Trump said.
But he played down the risk of a longer threat to efforts to create a lasting peace between Israel and Hamas.
"It's not going to take a long time when you know bullies," he added, referring to Hamas.
The Jordanian king and crown prince earlier met Trump's National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.