Washington (Quds News Network)- The United States and Israel attempted to communicate with Syria’s government about a plan to forcibly expel Palestinians from Gaza and send them to Syria, according to a CBS News report on Monday. The report, citing anonymous sources, revealed that Washington and Tel Aviv explored options to expel Palestinians to Syria, Sudan, and Somalia as part of a larger effort to ethnically cleanse Gaza of its native Palestinian people. Sources familiar with the Trump administration’s Middle East policy said that the U.S. attempted to reach Syria’s new government through third parties. However, it remains unclear whether Damascus responded. A senior Syrian official told CBS News that he was unaware of any such contact from the U.S. or Israel. The U.S. and Israel also approached Sudan and Somalia for the same purpose, according to the report. Somalia’s ambassador to Washington, Dahir Hassan, denied any involvement and warned that such claims could fuel extremist recruitment. A Sudanese official also rejected the idea, saying no such proposal had been received. Former President Donald Trump first suggested the idea in a February 4 press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He described Gaza as uninhabitable and said Palestinians should be expelled to other countries. The ethnic cleansing proposal faced immediate rejection from Arab and European nations. Egypt and Jordan strongly opposed any forced expulsion of native Palestinians. The Arab League instead backed an Egyptian-led plan to rebuild Gaza without relocating its residents. However, both the U.S. and Israel rejected that plan. Trump’s plan has sparked global outrage, with human rights organizations. Millions of Palestinians remain displaced, while Israel’s genocide in Gaza continues. The United Nations reports that over 48,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its assault on Gaza.