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The Israeli cabinet agreed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s military plan, but the quandary of who will eventually govern Gaza remains intractable.
Aug. 9, 2025, 8:55 a.m. ET
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said this week that Israel wanted to hand over control of Gaza to unnamed “Arab forces” after Hamas’s defeat. It is not clear whether Mr. Netanyahu has any takers at the moment.
Several hours after his remarks, the Israeli cabinet on Friday signed off on Mr. Netanyahu’s latest proposal: for the Israeli military to take over Gaza City. The cabinet also stipulated that Hamas’s main rival, the Palestinian Authority, not administer postwar Gaza.
Both moves further complicated the prospect that Arab countries might be willing to help pick up the pieces. Israel has razed much of Gaza during its nearly two-year war against Hamas, which has killed more than 60,000 people, according to health officials in the territory, who do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Some Arab governments have suggested that they would be willing to play a role in stabilizing the enclave, such as backing a postwar international security mission. At times, officials have floated the idea that Arab countries would send their own soldiers.
But, according to analysts, Arab leaders want that mission to ultimately turn Gaza over to the Palestinian Authority, which they view as the main feasible alternative to Hamas. They also want a political path toward Palestinian statehood. Both of these outcomes would cross red lines for Mr. Netanyahu’s government.
“If Netanyahu says yes to something like this, it means the end of the war, the withdrawal of Israeli forces and, most importantly, the collapse of the government,” said Michael Milshtein, a former senior Israeli intelligence officer. “Netanyahu isn’t willing to go there.”
