We are not seeking to govern Gaza, Netanyahu tells media

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday (Nov9) that Israel is not looking to occupy and governGaza. However, he added that a 'credible force' was necessary to respond to militant threats emanating from Gaza.

Netanyahu's fresh comments come just days after his previous one when he said that Israel would assume responsibility for security in Gaza for an 'indefinite period'. These comments had attracted US displeasure. The US is the biggest backer of Israel globally.

"We don't seek to conquer Gaza, we don't seek to occupy Gaza, and we don't seek to govern Gaza," Netanyahu told US media outlet Fox News.

He added that a civilian government needs to look after affairs in Gaza and Israel would make sure that an attack like the one that took place on October 7 doesn't happen again. For this, he said a 'credible force' will have to be maintained.

"So, we have to have a credible force that, if necessary, will enter Gaza and kill the killers. Because that's what will prevent the reemergence of a Hamas-like entity," Netanyahu said.

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Hamas fighters crossed from the Gaza Strip and launched an attack on Israel which saw the deaths of 1,400 people, by Israeli estimates. Hamas fighters also took more than 200 hostages. Israel has after that, responded with overwhelming military force with air raids and deployment of tank and troops for ground attacks. According to the Hamas-run health ministry, the civilian death toll in the Gaza Strip has crossed the 11,000 mark.

Constant Israeli bombardment and blockade have meant that there is a severe shortage of food, fuel, medicines and other essentials needed by the civilians in Gaza.

US officials have said that the Palestinian Authority (PA) should rule Gaza again. The PA has limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip from PA in 2007.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has said that the PA's return to Gaza should also be accompanied by a political solution, ending Isarel's control of regions it captured during the 1967 Middle East war.

During his conversation with Fox News, Netanyahu said that after the war, it needed to be ensured that Gaza is "demilitarised, deradicalised and rebuilt".

(With inputs from agencies)