By Humeyra Pamuk and Simon Lewis
WASHINGTON, Oct 31 (Reuters) - 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, U.S. Secretary of State
Antony Blinken said on Tuesday.
Blinken told a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing the
status quo of Palestinian Islamist 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 most sense at some point, Blinken said, was
an "effective and revitalized Palestinian Authority" to have
governance over Gaza, but it was a question 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 to the Oct. 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 air strikes hit a densely
populated refugee camp in north Gaza.
U.N. 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 United
States and Israel was the possibility of a multinational force
that may involve U.S. troops, or Gaza be placed under United
Nations oversight temporarily, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.
Some of U.S. 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.
(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Simon Lewis; Editing by Stephen
Coates)
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