Top Trump administration voices on Wednesday contradicted some of the comments the president made a day earlier about the U.S. taking long-term control of war-shattered Gaza, the possibility of sending in American troops and the area’s residents being permanently resettled.

Although the president had been talking about the idea for weeks, there had been no meetings on the subject, and senior members of his government were taken by surprise.

Trump’s proposal to relocate Palestinians out of Gaza and take over the territory was rejected by several foreign nations including Saudi Arabia, Turkey and China.