US reiterates opposition to allowing Hamas to remain in power in Gaza

Hamas cannot be allowed to maintain control of the besieged Gaza Strip in the wake of a devastating cross-border attack on Israel that killed more than 1,400 people, the White House said Wednesday, Anadolu Agency reports.

National Security Council spokesperson, John Kirby, said Washington does not yet know who it would prefer to take the reins in Gaza but said the US is working with regional partners to come up with a plan.

Whatever it is, it can’t be Hamas, and it has to be governance that has the best interests and the aspirations of the people of Gaza, the Palestinians of Gaza, at its core, as a foundation, because so many of them, they don’t associate with Hamas

he told reporters aboard Air Force One.

“Hamas doesn’t represent them. We don’t have those answers, but I can assure you that we are asking those very same questions of ourselves and of our partners, and we are trying to do the spade work to think about post-conflict Gaza, and what that looks like,” he said, using a phrase to refer to preparatory work.

Asked if the US plans to send American forces to Gaza as peacekeepers if Hamas is removed from the coastal enclave, Kirby said,

There’s no plans or intention to put US military troops on the ground in Gaza now or in the future but we are talking to our partners about what post-conflict Gaza should look like

The Israeli military has, since the weekend, expanded its air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip, which has been under relentless airstrikes since Hamas’s 7 October cross-border attack. At least 8,796 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry.

On Wednesday, some critically injured Palestinians and foreign passport holders were allowed to leave Gaza via the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.

Kirby said that will include a “handful” of American nationals who were expected to leave Gaza on Wednesday, with more expected to leave “in future days”.

“The State Department has communicated directly with American citizens in Gaza over the past 24 hours to tell them to be ready to go and to await further instruction,” he added.

The State Department separately confirmed that an “initial group” left Gaza.

The White House denied media reports that it is supportive of permanently resettling Palestinians in Gaza outside of the Occupied Territory. “That is not our policy, that is not what we’re after,” it said.

“We want to make sure that the people of Gaza, should they want to go back home, can go back home, but if they want to get out in the interim, they should be able to get out,” said Kirby. “There is no US policy or endorsement for some sort of permanent settlement.”

READ: As Gaza faces genocide, why is Jordan Peterson fuelling dehumanisation of Palestinians?