Trump says Gaza "could be better than Monaco" once it's rebuilt

Yes, but: Gaza is not part of Israel — though some ultranationalist Israeli ministers have called for the annexation of the Palestinian territory, where nearly 60% of buildings have either been destroyed or damaged since the Israel-Hamas war began last October.

Driving the news: Trump made the comments during an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt that marked one year since Hamas' Oct. 7 attacks on Israel.

Zoom in: Hewitt asked the Republican presidential nominee whether Gaza could be like Monaco "if it was rebuilt the right way."

• Trump replied that it "could be better than Monaco" as it has "the best location" in the Middle East.
• "I've been there, and it's rough. It's a rough place ... before all of the attacks and before the back and forth what's happened over the last couple of years," he added.
• "They never took advantage of it. You know, as a developer, it could be the most beautiful place — the weather, the water, the whole thing, the climate. It could be so beautiful. ... it could be one of the best places in the world."

Context: Conditions in Gaza were already dire before this war due to an Israeli blockade of the Palestinian enclave after Hamas seized control from the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority there in 2007.

• Trump flew to Israel once as president in 2017, when he went to Jerusalem and he also visited Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank.

What they're saying: When asked for comment on Trump's Gaza visit claims and for the campaign official's comment to the NYT on the enclave's location, Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in an emailed statement that he "has been to Gaza previously."

• She said that Trump "has always worked to ensure peace in the Middle East," pointing to him negotiating the Abraham Accords and that he had "brought stability to the region."

Zoom out: Trump also marked the Oct. 7 anniversary with a visit to the New York gravesite of the influential orthodox Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who died in 1994, and he held a remembrance event at his golf resort in Miami.

Go deeper: How Oct. 7 changed everything