By Rabia Iclal Turan
WASHINGTON (AA) - The US "ultimately" wants to see Israel fully withdrawn from the Gaza Strip, the State Department reiterated Thursday.
That was after remarks by Israeli opposition leader Benny Gantz, who suggested the Israeli military would remain active in Gaza for years.
"We ultimately want to see Israel fully withdrawn from Gaza," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said when asked by Anadolu about Gantz's comment.
After the Israeli military announced Thursday the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza, Gantz, the head of the National Unity party and former War Cabinet minister, called the death an “important achievement,” but emphasized that does not mark the end of the war.
The Israeli military "will continue to operate in the Gaza Strip for years to come" and Israel must take advantage of Sinwar's death "to bring back the hostages to replace Hamas’ rule," Gantz wrote on X.
Asked if the US still opposes the reoccupation of Gaza, a stance articulated by Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a speech in Tokyo last November, Miller confirmed: "Of course."
While Miller declined to respond directly to Gantz’s comments, he reiterated that the US wants Israel to fully withdraw from Gaza.
"They have a right, as any country does, to address terrorist threats against its people. But what we want to see as an end to this war, the terrorist threat from Gaza eliminated, and we want to see ultimately a political path that establishes a Palestinian state that is not hostile to Israel," he said.
"Of course, you wouldn’t want to see and wouldn’t need to see the IDF (military) operating in that environment," Miller added.