Hamas rejects Israel-US 'fantasy' plans for post-war Gaza

Hamas has rejected plans touted by Tel Aviv and Washington on how the Gaza Strip might be governed after Israel's war on the besieged enclave.

In a post on Telegram on Wednesday, Hamas spokesman Abdul-Latif al-Qanoua described comments by White House national security spokesman John Kirby about post-war Gaza as a "fantasy", saying that "our people will not allow anyone to decide their fate".

Kirby said at a press briefing on Tuesday that Hamas should not be involved in governing Gaza after the war. 

"Running Gaza or any part of our land is a pure Palestinian affair for our people, and any force on earth will not succeed in changing the reality or imposing its will," Qanoua said. 

Hamas’ comments after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on 6 November that Israel will have "overall security responsibility" in Gaza for an indefinite period after its war with Hamas. 

Netanyahu was also asked who would govern Gaza after Israel’s military campaign, to which the prime minister responded: "Those who don’t want to continue the way of Hamas."

Kirby said that the White House has maintained the stance that Israeli forces should not reoccupy Gaza, following Netanyahu’s proposed post-war strategy.  

"The president still believes that a reoccupation of Gaza by Israeli forces is not good. It’s not good for Israel; not good for the Israeli people," Kirby said in an interview with 'CNN This Morning'. 

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— The New Arab (@The_NewArab) November 7, 2023

"One of the conversations that Secretary (Antony) Blinken has been having in the region is what does post-conflict Gaza look like? What does governance look like in Gaza? Because whatever it is it can’t be what it was on October 6. It can’t be Hamas," he added. 

Hamas political bureau Gaza-based member Ghazi Hamad also told Al Jazeera on Tuesday that "the Americans are dreaming… when they are talking about rearranging things in Gaza" after Hamas. 

"Rearranging things in Gaza is a pure Palestinian affair, and Hamas will be part of this despite all of them," he said. 

Israel's month-long indiscriminate bombardment of the Gaza Strip has killed more than 10,000 people, over 4,000 of whom are children. 

More than 2,300 people are missing and believed to be buried under the rubble of destroyed buildings, the besieged Palestinian enclave's health ministry has said.