Biden administration ‘holds secret talks on stationing American troops in Gaza’ after Hamas is defeated – but US officials fear deepening political peril after Israel shelled a refugee camp

According to a report, the Biden administration and Israeli officials have held secret talks about stationing US troops in Gaza after Hamas is defeated.

The US has told Benjamin Netanyahu that a plan is needed for the Gaza Strip government if they succeed in driving out the terrorists. Israel has repeatedly stated that it does not want to occupy Gaza, but has also said that Hamas should no longer rule the enclave.

One of the options being discussed is a multinational force that could also include American troops, according to sources Bloomberg. Another option would be to place the region under the control of the United Nations.

But the Biden administration last night denied it planned to deploy US troops on the ground as the humanitarian crisis worsened after Israel shelled a refugee camp.

Hamas claimed that more than 50 people were killed and 150 injured. Israel said the attack took out a top Hamas commander.

Humanitarian groups have condemned Israel’s attack on the Jabalia refugee camp, saying the airstrike should be a “wake-up call” for world leaders to broker a ceasefire.

As the fighting continued, sources said Bloomberg that various options are being considered – including the involvement of US troops – but a National Security Council spokesperson denied the report.

Adrienne Watson told Bloomberg on Tuesday evening that “sending US troops to Gaza as part of a peacekeeping force is not something that is being considered or under discussion.”

But Bloomberg’s sources insisted it was indeed something that was discussed.

The Palestinian Authority, led by 87-year-old Mahmoud Abbas, is considered unwilling or unable to control Gaza.

One option, the sources said, would give regional countries temporary control of Gaza, backed by troops from the US, Britain, Germany and France.

Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates would ideally also be involved.

A second option being considered, Bloomberg It is reportedly a peacekeeping force modeled on the Multinational Force and Observers group that operates in the Sinai Peninsula and enforces the terms of the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.

A third option would be a temporary administration under the United Nations.

Israel is not keen on the idea, Bloomberg reported – partly because of the war of words in New York between the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, and the Israeli ambassador, Gilad Erdan.

Erdan, a fiery showman, last week demanded Guterres resign after the Portuguese diplomat said the October 7 Hamas attack “did not happen in a vacuum.”

Guterres added: “The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation.”

Erdan accused Guterres of justifying Hamas’ attack: Guterres insisted that Erdan twisted his words and said he was “shocked by the misrepresentations of some of my statements.”

On Monday, Israel’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Meirav Eilon Shahar, said her country had been “let down” by the organization, claiming it had not done enough to condemn Hamas and growing anti-Semitism.

One option proposed by a Washington DC think tank, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, is shared control by the UN and Arab countries.

“Public security and law enforcement could be managed by a consortium of the five Arab states that have reached peace agreements with Israel – Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco,” they wrote in a newspaper on October 17.

“Only those Arab states would have Israel’s trust, which is essential for the success of this effort.”

Food and health care, they suggest, could be provided by the UN.

Another problem for military planners is that there is little enthusiasm in the West and Arab countries to become involved in a regional war in the Middle East.

Joe Biden, who faces elections next year, is well aware of the dangers of being drawn into another bloody and costly conflict.

Antony Blinken, the secretary of state, said the Palestinian Authority should control the enclave in the long term.

“At some point it would make the most sense for an effective and revitalized Palestinian Authority to have governance and ultimately security responsibility for Gaza,” Blinken said, adding that “whether you can get there in one step is a big question is. ‘

He told a Senate committee in DC on Tuesday that several options were being considered.

“We cannot return to the status quo with Hamas running Gaza,” said Blinken, who will travel to Israel again on Friday.

“We also cannot have – and the Israelis themselves are starting with this proposal – Israel administering or controlling Gaza.

‘Among these shoals are a variety of possible permutations that we are now looking at very closely, as are other countries.’