US and partners discussing who would govern Gaza if Hamas is defeated, White House says

White House says it will not put US troops on the ground in Gaza

Palestinians walk in the street market of Jabaliya refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, after an Israeli air strike. AP

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The White House on Wednesday said it was in talks with partners to determine who might govern the Gaza Strip in the event Israel succeeds in dislodging Hamas.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Hamas cannot continue to run Gaza.

“We do believe that Hamas cannot be the future of governance in Gaza, they can't,” Mr Kirby told reporters aboard Air Force One.

“What comes after the conflict, we don't have all the answers yet but we are working with our partners in the region to explore what governance in Gaza can and should look like.”

Mr Kirby said the US has no plans to put any troops on the ground in Gaza now or in the future.

However, Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that the US and Israel are discussing the possibility of creating a multinational force to govern Gaza that may involve US troops.

In the wake of the October 7 Hamas attacks in which militants killed about 1,400 people, Israel has said it will eradicate the group.

Its retaliatory strikes and ground incursions have so far killed about 8,800 people in the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian tallies.

On Tuesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US and other countries were looking at a “variety of possible permutations” as to who would govern Gaza.

The latest from the Israel-Gaza war – in pictures

“We can’t have a reversion to the status quo with Hamas running Gaza,” Mr Blinken, who will travel to Israel on Friday, said at a Senate hearing.

“We also can’t have – and the Israelis start with this proposition themselves – Israel running or controlling Gaza.”

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told journalists on Wednesday that alternatives were under discussion.

“What the alternative is between those two poles is a matter that we will discuss here inside the United States government and a matter we will discuss with the Palestinian people and Palestinian leadership and a matter we will discuss with partners in the region,” he said.

Amid continued heavy bombing and a worsening humanitarian situation, a potential refugee crisis is looming for the region.

US officials say they do not support a permanent settlement of Palestinians outside of Gaza.

Many Palestinians who are descendants of refugees from the war in 1948 that led to Israel's creation also worry that if they flee the enclave, they will never be allowed to return.

US President Joe Biden's administration has opposed a ceasefire, saying it would only benefit Hamas.

On Wednesday, a group of foreign citizens, including Americans, and 81 wounded Palestinians were evacuated from the Gaza Strip through the Egyptian border following diplomatic efforts.