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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in Israel Sunday to ease tensions and demand answers over the IDF’s strike on Hamas’ leadership in Qatar, which upended diplomatic efforts to end the war in Gaza.
Rubio has met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to relay America’s commitment as an ally to the Jewish state, all while demanding more transparency over the war effort after the IDF greenlit an airstrike in Doha last week, bombing the capital of a key US ally in the region.
“We’re going to talk about what the future holds, and I’m going to get a much better understanding of what their plans are moving forward,” Rubio told reporters.
“Obviously we’re not happy about it,” he added, referencing the strike in Qatar. “The president was not happy about it. Now we need to move forward and figure out what comes next.”
Rubio, who visited Israel’s Western Wall with Netanyahu, said the Trump administration wants Jerusalem to lay out a plan to finally put an end to the war, which is approaching its third year.
President Trump “wants Hamas defeated, he wants the war to end, he wants all 48 hostages home, including those that are deceased, and he wants it all at once,” Rubio said.
“And we’ll have to discuss about how the events last week had an impact on the ability to achieve that in short order,” the secretary of state added.
While Rubio’s tone was stern, Netanyahu celebrated his arrival as proof that US-Israeli ties have “never been stronger” at a time when the Jewish state faces near global condemnation over the war in Gaza and attack in Doha.
“[It’s] a testament to the durability, the strength of the Israeli-American alliance,” Netanyahu said of Rubio’s visit as they toured Jerusalem. “It’s as strong and as durable as the stones of the Western Wall we just touched.”
The trip comes just days after Rubio and Trump met with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani to mediate and assure the leader that such a strike would never happen again.
Al Thani had previously accused Israel of “killing” the peace talks that Qatar was mediating. The sheikh later confirmed that his country would still serve as mediators for the Gaza war, but warned that retaliation was coming for Israel.
Rubio’s visit to Israel also serves as much needed international support for Netanyahu as the United Nations’ General Assembly is set to convene this month to discuss the war, with France, Britain and other nations set to recognize a Palestinian state.
With Post wires
English (US)