Blinken says US and others are exploring options for future of Gaza after Hamas

The United States and other countries are looking at “a variety of possible permutations” for the future of the Gaza Strip if Hamas militants are removed from control, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday.

According to Reuters, Blinken told a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing that the status quo of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement being in charge of the densely populated enclave could not continue, but Israel does not want to run Gaza either. Between those two positions are “a variety of possible permutations that we’re looking at very closely now, as are other countries,” said the US official.

What would make most sense at some point, Blinken explained, was an “effective and revitalised Palestinian Authority” to have governance over Gaza, but it was a question of whether that can be achieved. “And if you can’t, then there are other temporary arrangements that may involve a number of other countries in the region. It may involve international agencies that would help provide for both security and governance.”

Among the options that are being explored by the US and Israel is the possibility of a multinational force that may involve US troops, or for Gaza to be placed under UN oversight temporarily, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. In response to the report, though, the White House said sending US troops to Gaza as part of a peacekeeping force is not something being considered or under discussion.

READ: Bolivia severs diplomatic ties with Israel, citing ‘crimes against humanity’

In retaliation for the 7 October Hamas attack that killed more than 1,400 people in Israel, the apartheid state has vowed to wipe out Hamas in a relentless onslaught against the Gaza Strip which has killed more than 8,500 Palestinians, 3,500 of them children. However, it does not appear to have an obvious endgame in sight.

Some of US President Joe Biden’s aides are concerned that while Israel may craft an effective plan to inflict lasting damage to Hamas, it has yet to formulate an exit strategy.

“We have had very preliminary talks about what the future of Gaza might look like,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a briefing. “I expect that it will be the subject of a good bit of diplomatic engagement moving forward.”

UN and other aid officials said civilians in the besieged Palestinian enclave are engulfed by a public health catastrophe, with hospitals struggling to treat casualties as electricity supplies petered out.

READ: Gaza hospital corridors crowded with wounded as doctors operate without anaesthetics