Israel will take ‘overall security responsibility’ of Gaza for ‘indefinite period’ after war, Netanyahu says 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that the Jewish state will be responsible for the “overall security” of the Gaza Strip for an “indefinite period” after the country’s war against Hamas ends. 

Netanyahu, 74, hinted at his vision for the future of the Palestinian-controlled territory during an interview on ABC News’ “World News Tonight with David Muir,” where he explained that Gaza should only be led by “those who don’t want to continue the way of Hamas.”

“I think Israel will, for an indefinite period, will have the overall security responsibility because we’ve seen what happens when we don’t have it,” the prime minister said. “When we don’t have that security responsibility, what we have is the eruption of Hamas terror on a scale that we couldn’t imagine.” 

President Biden told CBS’s “60 Minutes” last month that Israel occupying Gaza would be a “big mistake,” arguing that “there needs to be a Palestinian authority” in charge that would lead to a “Palestinian state.”

Netanyahu also vowed during the interview, his first with a US network since the start of the war, that there will be no cease-fire in the conflict until all hostages being held by Hamas are freed. 

“The question of a cease-fire, the president himself has said that a cease-fire would be a surrender to Hamas, it would be a victory for Hamas,” the prime minister said.

Netanyahu, however, left the door open to the possibility of brief “little pauses” to allow hostages to be released and humanitarian goods to enter Gaza.    

“There’ll be no cease-fire, general cease-fire, in Gaza without the release of our hostages,” the prime minister said. “As far as tactical, little pauses, an hour here an hour there, we’ve had them before. I suppose we’ll check the circumstances in order to enable goods, humanitarian goods to come in, or our hostages, individual hostages, to leave, but I don’t think there’s going to be a general cease-fire.”

Netanyahu argued that pressuring Hamas to release hostages via force is the best way to move forward.  

A cease-fire “will hamper our effort to get our hostages out because the only thing that works on these criminals in Hamas is the military pressure that we’re exerting,” Netanyahu said. “If Hamas agrees to release the hostages, then there would be a pause.”

Netanyahu deflected when pressed by Muir if there was disagreement between him and President Biden on the need for a humanitarian pause in the war. 

Biden, 80, held an emergency call with Netanyahu – a longtime friend of the president – on Monday where the topic of “humanitarian pauses” was discussed, according to the White House.

“[Biden and Netanyahu] discussed the possibility of tactical pauses to provide civilians with opportunities to safely depart from areas of ongoing fighting, to ensure assistance is reaching civilians in need, and to enable potential hostage releases,” the White House said in a statement.

More than 1,400 Israelis died in Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack on the Jewish state and Palestinian authorities have said more than 9,000 Palestinians have died since Israel’s retaliation.