Sir Tony Blair briefed Donald Trump on a plan to rebuild Gaza in a meeting at the White House, according to a senior official.

The former prime minister met the US president for Middle East talks on Wednesday.

The discussions are being held amid growing anger at a double Israeli strike on a hospital in southern Gaza which killed 20 people, including journalists and emergency workers.

The White House said it would not release details about the post-war Gaza proposals under discussion.

In January Mr Trump floated the idea of relocating Gazans permanently to neighbouring countries and later said the US could take over the territory to build “the Riviera of the Middle East.”.

Sir Tony fed ideas into a plan developed by the Biden administration that would have involved the international community and Arab nations sending troops to Gaza to stabilise security and deliver humanitarian aid.

Antony Blinken, Joe Biden’s US secretary of state, briefed allies on the plan, which he hoped would become a blueprint for rebuilding Gaza.

Wednesday’s meeting was also expected to focus on a US plan for delivering humanitarian aid.

A US official told Axios that Mr Trump’s instructions are: “Get this fixed.” “It’s expanding the food plan, the quantity, the distribution method, the number of people that could be served,” the official said.

At the weekend, it emerged that the first lady of Turkey had written to Melania Trump, asking her to raise the plight of children in Gaza with the Israeli prime minister.

“These days, when the world is experiencing a collective awakening and the recognition of Palestine has become a global will. I believe that your call on behalf of Gaza would fulfil a historic responsibility toward the Palestinian people,” wrote Ermine Erdogan.

Benjamin Netanyahu and Mr Trump are facing mounting pressure at home to secure a ceasefire deal that would release the last remaining hostages.

Jared Kushner, Mr Trump’s son-in-law, was also in the White House meeting, according to Axios and Israel’s Channel 12 news.

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The Telegraph has previously reported that Sir Tony was working as an adviser to Steve Witkoff, Mr Trump’s Middle East envoy.

Mr Witkoff announced the meeting during an interview with Fox News.

“It is a very comprehensive plan we are putting together on the next day (in Gaza) and many people are going to see how robust it is and how well meaning it is and it reflects President Trump’s humanitarian motives here,” he said on Tuesday.

A White House official told Reuters it was “simply a policy meeting,” of the type frequently held by the president and his team.

Gideon Sa’ar, the Israeli foreign minister, was also set to meet Marco Rubio, Mr Trump’s secretary of state, on Wednesday.

Mr Trump promised a quick end to the war in Gaza during last year’s presidential campaign, but has been unable to secure a permanent resolution.

His term began with a ceasefire which lasted two months, until Israeli strikes killed around 400 Palestinians on March 18.

The crisis has escalated since then, with images of starving children heightening concern of a spiralling humanitarian crisis.

Mr Witkoff had little experience of international diplomacy before being tapped by Mr Trump.

Since then, he has broadened his circle of expertise by drawing on the former prime minister’s experience in tackling protracted conflicts, as well as his contacts book in the Middle East.

After leaving office in 2007, Sir Tony was appointed Middle East envoy, representing the US, the UN, the European Union, and Russia.

During an interview with Politico earlier this year, the former prime minister suggested that progress might be made in Gaza if a future settlement found a third party – rather than Israel or Hamas – to govern the territory.

That would “begin a process of reconstruction,” he said in October.

The Tony Blair Global Institute for Global Change opened an office in Washington, DC, at the end of last year.

It is understood Sir Tony was attending the White House as a private individual. The British embassy in Washington did not know of his involvement.