Netanyahu: Israel to Take Indefinite ‘Security Responsibility’ of Gaza

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at future Israeli control of Gaza, a U.S. diplomatic pivot toward the Indo-Pacific, and Portugal’s surprise prime minister resignation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel plans to indefinitely take “overall security responsibility” of Gaza after the war. This is the clearest indication yet that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) plan to maintain some degree of control over the war-torn area—and comes as Israel marks one month since the Hamas attack on Oct. 7 that killed around 1,400 Israelis.

“When we don’t have that security responsibility, what we have is the eruption of Hamas terror on a scale that we couldn’t imagine,” Netanyahu said. Following the attack, the right-wing leader pledged to completely destroy Hamas, which has run the Gaza Strip since 2007. However, until now, Netanyahu had not specified plans for the enclave’s future post-Hamas.

In response, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said: “Our viewpoint is Palestinians must be at the forefront of these decisions. Gaza is Palestinian land and will remain Palestinian land. Generally speaking, we do not support reoccupation of Gaza and neither does Israel.”

Netanyahu’s comments came the same day that the IDF encircled Gaza City, effectively splitting the Gaza Strip in half by “separating Hamas strongholds in the north and the south,” Israeli military spokesperson Lt. Col. Richard Hecht said.

Despite Netanyahu’s tough posture, he hinted on Monday that Israel may consider “tactical little pauses” in fighting to allow for the safe release of hostages and delivery of aid into Gaza. This moves Israel closer to the U.S. position after President Joe Biden called for localized humanitarian pauses last week. “We’ll see what we can do to help put them in place,” U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said on Tuesday regarding Netanyahu’s suggestion.

Netanyahu, however, remains adamant that Israel will not accept a total cease-fire until all 200-plus hostages being held by Hamas are released. Only four kidnapped civilians have been released thus far, and the IDF has successfully rescued just one Israeli soldier, who was taken during the Oct. 7 attack.

Many of Israel’s Middle East neighbors and the larger international community continue to advocate for an immediate halt in fighting as the death toll in Gaza rises. More than 10,300 Palestinians have been killed thus far and more than 25,000 others wounded. Of those killed, around two-thirds are women and children, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. Israel maintains that the IDF has killed thousands of Hamas-allied militants. The group has continued to fire rockets at Israel almost daily since Oct. 7, from both Gaza and Lebanon.

• The Inevitable Fall of Putin’s New Russian Empire by Alexander J. Motyl
• Hamas and the New Lessons of Irregular Warfare by Varsha Koduvayur and Peter Chin
• What Happens to Gaza After the War? by Amy Mackinnon

Pacific pivot. After four days of shuttle diplomacy across the Middle East, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken flew to Tokyo to discuss the Israel-Hamas war with other G-7 foreign ministers. He urged the group to speak in “one clear voice” on expanding aid for civilians in Gaza and pushed for continued support of Israel.

But rising conflict in the Middle East is far from Blinken’s only concern. Throughout his upcoming travels across the Indo-Pacific this week, Blinken plans to address Russia’s continued war in Ukraine as well as China’s increased assertiveness in the region. On Wednesday, Blinken visits Seoul to meet with top South Korean officials, including President Yoon Suk-yeol, before traveling with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to New Delhi, where they will meet with their Indian counterparts for a 2+2 dialogue on China’s growing competitor status.

Lisbon’s corruption shake-up. Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa resigned on Tuesday mere hours after public prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for his chief of staff and police raided government buildings as part of a corruption investigation. Other top officials, such as the mayor of Sines, the minister of infrastructure, and the head of Portugal’s Environmental Agency, were named as suspects. Costa said he did not have prior knowledge of the investigation.

The unexpected announcement shines a light on Portugal’s lithium mining industry, as the investigation involves accusations that the suspects invoked the prime minister’s name and authority “to unblock procedures” related to lithium exploration concessions. Trust in government institutions is “absolutely incompatible” with having a prime minister who faces “suspicions about his integrity,” Costa said.

President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will now decide whether to dissolve parliament and call elections or appoint a new prime minister. Costa, who has been in office since 2015, will remain on as caretaker leader until then.

Island diplomacy. The Cook Islands kicked off the 52nd summit of the Pacific Islands Forum on Monday. The weeklong event will focus on China’s growing strategic influence in the region, deep sea mining and other attempts at diversifying members’ economies, and the substantial impact of global warming ahead of the United Nations climate change conference, which begins later this month.

Australia leads the decision-making body as the bloc’s largest economy. This makes Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s visit to China this week particularly consequential, as Canberra is looking to strengthen ties with Beijing amid U.S. pressure to counter China. Albanese’s efforts culminated on Tuesday when he met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, restarting the two countries’ annual leaders’ meeting.

British authorities charged four men with stealing an 18-karat gold, fully functioning toilet from Blenheim Palace. Yes, you read that correctly. Just days after it was installed, visitors to Winston Churchill’s birthplace took the $1.25 million commode—which is now valued at a whopping $5.93 million. Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, who created the bathroom throne, said he hopes the robbery was “a kind of Robin Hood-inspired action,” but the toilet’s location is still unknown. Well, when you’ve got to go …