NEW YORK, November 1. /TASS/. The US and Israel are considering the possibility of deploying peacekeeping forces in the Gaza Strip if the radical Palestinian group Hamas is defeated in the current military conflict, the Bloomberg news agency reported.

According to the media outlet, a peacekeeping mission, comprising troops from several countries, including the US, may be sent to Gaza. This way, the enclave would be controlled by Middle Eastern countries, such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, with support from the US, Great Britain, Germany and France.

According to Bloomberg, another option involves setting up a peacekeeping mission, "modeled on the Multinational Force and Observers group that operates on and around the Sinai Peninsula, enforcing the terms of the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel." According to the news agency’s sources, "Israel believes that this idea is worthy of consideration."

According to the third option, the Gaza Strip would be temporarily governed by the UN; however, Israel does not view this plan as viable. According to Bloomberg’s sources, talks on the matter are in their early stages and some US officials do not think that these plans will be implemented. White House National Security Council Spokeswoman Adrienne Watson told Bloomberg that, "sending US troops to Gaza as part of a peacekeeping force is not something that’s being considered or is under discussion."

Other sources stress that even a small contingent of US troops in Gaza "could prove politically risky." Moreover, it is still unclear whether Arab countries would be interested in participating in such a peacekeeping mission.

Earlier, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Washington is not ruling out a possible scenario in which the Gaza Strip would be governed temporarily by a number of Middle Eastern countries and international organizations.