International countries could help govern Gaza after Israel has destroyed Hamas before handing over control of the enclave to the Palestinian Authority, Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, has said.

Mr Blinken made the remarks on Tuesday as Israel continued to bombard the Hamas-controlled Strip in retaliation for the terrorist group’s Oct 7 assault.

He told a Senate hearing he endorsed the Israeli goal of destroying Hamas, which has ruled the territory since 2007, but ruled out Gaza falling under Israel’s control in the future.

“At some point, what would make the most sense would be for an effective and revitalised Palestinian Authority to have governance and ultimately security responsibility for Gaza,” Mr Blinken said.

“Whether you can get there in one step is a big question that we have to look at. And if you can’t, then there are other temporary arrangements that may involve a number of other countries in the region,” he added.

“It may involve international agencies that would help provide for both security and governance.”

Mr Blinken said that there could not be a “reversion of the status quo with Hamas running Gaza”.

“We also can’t have – and the Israelis start with this proposition themselves – Israel running or controlling Gaza,” he said.

However, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, has long sought to sideline the Palestinian Authority (PA) and its Mahmud Abbas, its president.

The PA exercises limited autonomy in parts of the occupied West Bank.

On a recent visit to the Middle East, Mr Blinken met twice with Mr Abbas and voiced appreciation for his efforts in the West Bank to preserve calm.

The situation there has since deteriorated, however, with at least 122 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces or settlers since Oct 7, according to the Ramallah-based health ministry.

Two members of Israel’s military have been killed there also, one of them by friendly fire.

As tensions continue to rise in the territory and the bloodshed in Gaza worsens, Mr Blinken reiterated on Tuesday that Washington backed the creation of a Palestinian state, a goal bitterly opposed by some members of Mr Netanyahu’s hard-right government.

Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005. It imposed a blockade on the territory after Hamas took control in 2007 following a conflict with political party Fatah, which dominates the PA.