US, Israel discuss forming ‘multinational force’ in Gaza if Hamas ousted: Report

The US and other countries were looking at “a variety of possible permutations” for the future of the Gaza Strip if Hamas terrorists are removed from control, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday (local time).

Blinken told a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing the status quo of Palestinian terror group Hamas being in charge of the densely populated enclave could not continue, but Israel did not want to run Gaza either.

Between those two positions were “a variety of possible permutations that we’re looking at very closely now, as are other countries”, Blinken said.

What would make the most sense at some point, Blinken said, 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,” Blinken said.

In retaliation for the October 7 Hamas attack that killed more than 1,400 people in Israel, the worst assault on Jews since the Holocaust, Israel has vowed to wipe out Hamas in a relentless onslaught in the Gaza Strip. However, it does not appear to have an obvious endgame in sight.

On Tuesday, Palestinian health officials said at least 50 Palestinians were killed when Israeli airstrikes hit a densely populated refugee camp in northern Gaza.

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

Washington has been speaking with Israel, as well as other countries in the region, on how to govern the Palestinian enclave if Israel triumphed on the battlefield, but a clear plan was yet to emerge.

Among the options that are being explored by the US and Israel was the possibility of a multinational force that may involve US troops or Gaza being placed under United Nations oversight temporarily, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

In response to the report, the White House said sending US troops to Gaza as part of a peacekeeping force is not something being considered or under discussion.

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,” he added.