New Delhi: US President Joe Biden does not believe that Israeli forces reoccupying Gaza was not a good option, the White House said on Tuesday (local time).

Biden confirmed he had asked Netanyahu to consider a ‘humanitarian pause’

The response came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said his country will have the “overall security responsibility” in the Palestinian enclave for an “indefinite person” after the war against Hamas ends.

“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,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told CNN.

“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 said.

In an interview with CBS’ ’60 Minutes’ last month, Biden warned Israel against occupying Gaza, saying it would be a “big mistake”. In response, Israel’s ambassador to the US, Michael Herzog, said the country had no plans to occupy Gaza after the war ends.

Last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Israel and met with Netanyahu, saying Washington stood by Tel Aviv’s side. He urged the Israeli Prime Minister to consider a pause in the war to allow aid for Palestinians to enter and civilians and foreigners to leave Gaza. But Netanyahu rejected it.

Earlier on Tuesday, Biden confirmed he had asked Netanyahu to consider a ‘humanitarian pause’ when both leaders spoke over the phone on Monday.

“I didn’t get a chance to talk to him today. I did ask him for a pause in the past — yesterday. I’m still waiting to hear from other people,” he told reporters.