By Gill Bikram Singh 
The creator of the viral AI-generated video portraying former US President Donald Trump’s vision for the Gaza Strip has broken his silence, explaining that the video was intended as political satire. Solo Avital, a Los Angeles-based filmmaker, said he made the video in early February while experimenting with AI tools and was shocked by how widely it spread.
“We are storytellers, not provocateurs. We sometimes create satire pieces, and this was meant to be one of them,” Mr. Avital told The Guardian. “The impact of satire depends on the context, and in this case, there was no context. It was shared without our consent or knowledge.”
Mr. Avital, an Israeli-born US citizen, said the video was meant to satirize “this megalomaniac idea about putting statues [in Gaza]” and test the capabilities of AI. His business partner, Ariel Vromen, initially posted the video on Instagram before Mr. Avital persuaded him to remove it.
The video was later shared by Mr. Trump on his social media platform, Truth Social. It depicted Gaza transformed into a Dubai-style luxury resort, with extravagant images of billionaire Elon Musk dancing on a beach, surrounded by falling US dollars, and enjoying lavish meals. A towering building labeled “Trump Gaza” suggested Mr. Trump’s dominance over the area. The video concluded with Mr. Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sipping drinks on a beach.
Hamas Responds
Hamas criticized Mr. Trump for sharing the AI-generated video, arguing that his vision for Gaza disregards the culture and interests of Palestinians living in the region.
“Unfortunately, Trump is once again promoting ideas that ignore the people’s cultures and interests,” Basem Naim, a Hamas Political Bureau member, told Newsweek.
He added, “The people of Gaza want to see their region rebuilt and economically revived, but not under occupation. We are not fighting to improve conditions inside the prison—we are fighting to break free from the prison and its jailers.”
The controversy stems from Mr. Trump’s proposed development plan for Gaza, which reportedly involves expelling 2.1 million Palestinians and turning the region into a luxury “Riviera” under US ownership.