Your trusted source

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his country does not intend to occupy or govern Gaza after the end of its war with Hamas, but the enclave must be “demilitarised, deradicalised and rebuilt”, Al Jazeera reported.

In an interview with Fox News aired on Thursday, Netanyahu said that Israel would need to find a “civilian government” to govern the enclave, which has been run by Hamas since 2006, without specifying who would form such a body.

“We don’t seek to govern Gaza, we don’t seek to occupy it. But we seek to give it and us a better future… and that requires defeating Hamas,” he said. “I’ve set goals, I didn’t set a timetable because it can take more time.”

Netanyahu said that a “credible force” would be needed to enter Gaza as necessary to “kill the killers” and “prevent the re-emergence of a Hamas-like entity.”

Netanyahu’s comments come days after he said Israel would take responsibility for Gaza’s security for an “indefinite period” after the end of its war with Hamas, prompting pushback from the United States.

On Tuesday, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said that President Joe Biden did not believe that reoccupying Gaza would be the “right thing to do”.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that the conditions for “durable peace and security” would include “no reoccupation of Gaza after the conflict ends”.