US opposes PM plan to maintain control over Gaza, but accepts need for transition period

US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller reiterates the Biden administration’s objection to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s assertion that the IDF will maintain security responsibility over the Gaza Strip after the war.

However, he appears to reiterate Washington’s acquiescence to there being some IDF presence in Gaza for a brief period after the war.

“We understand that the Israeli military is not going to… just disappear the next day [after the war]. There is going to have to be some sort of transition period, so there isn’t a vacuum of security in Gaza. We will work with partners in the region to figure out what that transition period [will look like],” Miller says during a briefing.

The US has been working to rally international agencies and Arab allies to help manage Gaza’s security during a transitional period before a “revitalized” Palestinian Authority can return to ruling the Strip, but has faced pushback from regional governments thus far.