White House says likely Israel will have some ‘initial security’ presence in Gaza post-war
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief

The Biden administration appears to move closer the Israeli position that the IDF will have to maintain a degree of security control over Gaza after its war aimed at eradicating Hamas.
“I think all of us can foresee a period of time after the conflict is over where Israeli forces will likely still be in Gaza and will have some initial security responsibilities,” US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby tells CNN.
This is the first time a US official has publicly made such an acknowledgement, and comes two days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would have to maintain overall security control of Gaza for an indefinite period.
Israeli officials had initially said that they’re not interested in reoccupying the Strip, so Netanyahu’s comments led to concerns that he was laying the groundwork for just that. It led to several statements from top US officials doubling down on their opposition to Israel reoccupying Gaza.
Kirby tells CNN that the US believes it would be a “mistake” for Israel to reoccupy the territory.
“But for how long and where and to what size and scale and scope, I think it’s too soon to know.” Kirby says the US is focused on devising a long-term governance structure for Gaza after the current conflict, but said that as yet there has been little prospect of a viable plan.
“I think where we are is a lot of questions, and not a lot of answers,” he says. “We know what we don’t want to see in Gaza post-conflict, we don’t want to see Hamas in control and we don’t want to see a reoccupation by Israel.”