Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Israel does not seek to invade, occupy, or govern the Gaza Strip after its war with Hamas, but there will be a need for a "reliable force" to enter the Palestinian territory if necessary to prevent threats from militants. Netanyahu's comments this week, in which he indicated that Israel would be responsible for security in Gaza indefinitely, received a rejecting response from the United States, Israel's main ally. Washington has stated that it will oppose any Israeli occupation of Gaza following the war. Israel has been bombarding the territory since the October 7 attack by Hamas, in which Israel claims 1,400 were killed.
In an interview with American television network Fox News on Thursday, Netanyahu said, "We do not seek to invade Gaza, we do not seek to occupy Gaza, and we do not seek to govern Gaza." He added that it would be necessary to establish a civilian government in Gaza, but Israel would ensure that no attacks occur like those on October 7. Netanyahu stated, "Therefore, we must have a reliable force that can, if necessary, enter Gaza and kill the murderers, because that is what will prevent the resurgence of an entity like Hamas."
U.S. officials say that the Palestinian Authority, which has limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, should return to govern Gaza after the war. Hamas has controlled the territory since 2007. Top Palestinian officials, including President Mahmoud Abbas, say that the return of the Palestinian Authority to Gaza must be accompanied by a political solution that ends Israel's occupation of the territories it seized in the 1967 war. Netanyahu stated that after the war, "what we need to see is a demilitarized, de-radicalized, and rebuilt Gaza." Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh told PBS this week that the Palestinian Authority will not return to Gaza "on an Israeli tank."
