John Kirby
The White House stated Wednesday that the United States does not believe the Palestinian Hamas group will be part of the future governance of the Gaza Strip once the war with Israel is over.
Speaking to the media as President Joe Biden flew to Minnesota, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby, also stated that the US does not favor a permanent settlement of Gaza citizens outside of Gaza, which has been administered by Hamas.
With the civilian death toll rising in Gaza growing in the Israel-Hamas war, Kirby stated that Washington does not believe the moment has come for a general ceasefire, but that humanitarian pauses in hostilities are required.
As the US and its allies and partners consider post-war Gaza options, Kirby said having Hamas in command would be problematic in the light of the group’s massacre of 1,400 people in southern Israel on Oct. 7.
“We do believe that Hamas cannot be the future of Gazan governance. They can’t”, Kirby remarked.
“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”, Kirby added.
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