Is Netanyahu seeking to occupy Gaza?

WASHINGTON - The United States would oppose a reoccupation of Gaza by Israel's military in post-conflict Gaza, the White House said on Tuesday.

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that Israel and the United States are friends and do not have to agree on every single issue.

Israel has so far been vague about its long-term plans if it achieves its stated goal of vanquishing Hamas. In some of the first direct comments on the subject, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would seek to have security responsibility for Gaza "for an indefinite period" after the war.

But officials said Israel is not interested in governing the enclave. Gallant, Israel's defence minister, said that after the war was finished, neither Israel nor Hamas would rule Gaza.

US President Joe Biden told Israeli Netanyahu in a call on Monday that a three-day fighting pause could help secure the release of some hostages.

But in a televised statement, Netanyahu said there would be no ceasefire or fuel delivery to Gaza before Hamas released Israeli hostages and repeated a call on Palestinian civilians to move south for their own safety. "We will not stop," Netanyahu said.

Citing the US official, Axios reported that under a proposal being discussed between the US, Israel and Qatar, Hamas would release 10-15 hostages and use the pause to verify the identities of all the hostages and deliver a list of names of the people it is holding.

In a statement on Monday, the White House said 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."