US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, stressed on Wednesday the need for Israel not to reoccupy the Gaza Strip, after the end of the war it is currently waging against Hamas.

Blinken stressed to reporters, following a meeting in Tokyo of the foreign ministers of the “G7” countries, that “Gaza must not be reoccupied after the conflict.”

Blinken rejected the idea of forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza at any stage, and said: “There must be no forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, neither now nor after the war.” The US Secretary also stressed the need not to “reoccupy Gaza after the end of the conflict or reduce its territory.” He said: “It is clear that Hamas cannot continue to run Gaza, and it is also clear that Israel cannot reoccupy Gaza.”

He continued: “The realistic matter is that we may need a transitional period after the end of the conflict, but it is inevitable that the Palestinian people will be the center of government in Gaza.”