Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant restated his government's commitment to dismantling Hamas as a governing and military authority in the framework of any deal to wind down the Gaza war, his office quoted him as telling the top U.S. diplomat.
In the call with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Gallant also "discussed the issue of identifying and enabling the emergence of a local, governing alternative" to the Islamist militant group, the Defence Ministry statement on Monday said.