Israel to roll out plan to replace Hamas in northern Gaza, says official

Jerusalem will "soon" roll out a plan to replace Hamas governance in northern Gaza, Israeli National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi said on Tuesday.

Speaking at Reichman University's annual Herzliya Conference, Hanegbi said that the collapse of Hamas's military ability to rule will open opportunities "for countries that want to see a governing alternative to Hamas in Gaza, with local leadership in Gaza, to join this process."

He explained that Gaza's new leadership will include Israel's Abraham Accords partners, the United States, the European Union and the United Nations, while the Israeli military continues "cleansing the area" of Hamas's presence.

"We've been talking about this notion of 'the day after' for many months and the main thing that we've tried to emphasise throughout is that it's mainly the day after Hamas in the sense that we don't need to wait for it to disappear, because that process could take a long time."

"The idea is, and this is what the Americans agree on, including in the conversations this week and also in the conversation that the minister of defense [Yoav Gallant] is conducting right now [in Washington], is that there will be a so-called top-down leadership, and not only bottom-up," he continued.

Said Hanegbi, "You cannot completely get Hamas to disappear because it's an idea, a concept."

The US has pressed Israeli officials to clarify a vision for Gaza's governance after the war. The Biden administration opposes Israel occupying Gaza or allowing the Strip to descend into chaos. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stressed that Israel's three war aims are the destruction of Hamas's military and governing capabilities, the return of all hostages, and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel.

In an interview with the US-based Punchbowl News on Friday, Netanyahu said a demilitarized post-war Gaza will be overseen by a civilian-run administration with the assistance of Arab countries. He also referred to a "deradicalization process."

At least 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas's attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 116 remaining hostages, more than 30 are believed dead.