Blinken added during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing that the status quo in which Hamas is in charge of the densely populated Strip cannot continue, but Israel does not want to run Gaza either.
Possible alternatives and temporary arrangements
Blinken said that between these two situations there are “a variety of potential alternatives that we are now carefully examining, as are other countries,” according to Reuters.
He added that what would be most logical at some point is the presence of an “effective and renewed Palestinian authority” to govern Gaza, but the question is whether achieving this is possible.
“If we cannot do that, there are other temporary arrangements that may include a number of other countries in the region. They may include international agencies that help provide security and governance,” Blinken said.
Israel responded to the attack launched by Hamas on October 7, crushing the Gaza Strip with air strikes, vowing to eliminate Hamas in a relentless attack, but it does not seem to have a clear way to end the matter.
Washington is talking with Israel, as well as with other countries in the region, about how to govern the Palestinian Strip if Israel wins on the battlefield, but a clear plan has not yet emerged.
Bloomberg reported yesterday, Tuesday, that among the options being considered by the United States and Israel are the deployment of a multinational force that may include American forces, or placing Gaza under United Nations supervision temporarily.
In response to the report, the White House said that sending American forces to Gaza as part of a peacekeeping force is not a matter under study or discussion.
An attack without an exit plan
Some aides to US President Joe Biden are concerned that although Israel may develop an effective plan to permanently damage Hamas, it has not yet developed an exit strategy.
“We had very preliminary conversations about what the future of Gaza might look like,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a press conference.
“I expect this will be the subject of a lot of diplomatic work from now on,” he added.
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