The United States and Israel have begun discussing the future of the Gaza Strip. It is possible that foreign troops could be deployed there if the IDF manages to oust Hamas, Bloomberg reports.
The sources, who remained anonymous, emphasized that the conversations were prompted by a sense of urgency to develop a plan for the future of Gaza amid Israel's ground operation.
According to the interlocutors, the creation of a multinational peacekeeping contingent to be deployed to the Gaza Strip is not ruled out. The first option is to provide control over the region with the support of the military of the United States, Britain, Germany and France. According to the sources, ideally, representatives of Arab countries should also join in.
The second option is a peacekeeping force modeled after the multinational observer groups that operate in and around the Sinai Peninsula, in compliance with the terms of the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. Another option is to place Gaza under temporary UN supervision.
Sources note that talks about Gaza's future remain at an early stage. For his part, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has openly stated that Gaza will not return to the status quo under Hamas.
National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson told Bloomberg that "sending US troops to Gaza as part of a peacekeeping force is not being considered or discussed."
The publication notes that all these options pose a political danger to US President Joe Biden and other countries. The White House believes that endangering even a small contingent of US troops could be politically risky.
