Jerusalem (AP) – US Secretary of State Marco Rubio As to how he sees the path in Gaza following Israeli attacks on Qatar Hamas operatives, he says he is seeking responses that he has stepped back his efforts to mediate the end of the conflict.
Rubio told reporters on Saturday before leaving for Israeli President Donald Trump Although we remained unhappy with Israel’s strike, we did not shake our support for Israel.
“We’re going to talk about what the future holds and we’re going to better understand that their plans are moving forward,” Rubio said. “Obviously we’re not happy about it. The President wasn’t happy about it. Now we need to move forward and understand what’s coming next.”
Both Rubio and Trump met with Qatar’s prime minister on Friday to discuss fallout from Israeli operations, showing how the Trump administration is trying to do Relationships among major Middle Eastern allies A few days later Israel targeted Hamas leaders On the Doha strike.
The attacks apparently attracted widespread international condemnation, ended attempts to secure a ceasefire in Israeli Hamas, and ended hostage releases ahead of the UN General Assembly session, where the War on Gaza is expected to be the main focus.
“Hamas wants to be defeated, he wants to end the war, he wants to have all 48 hostages in his home, including those who have died, and he wants it all at once,” he said. “And we need to discuss how last week’s event impacted our ability to achieve that in a short time.”
Rubio will hold a meeting in Jerusalem on Sunday and Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others.
Despite tensions between Trump and Netanyahu over the strike, Rubio is in Israel for a two-day visit. It’s a show of support for an increasingly isolated country before the UN is debated Discussions regarding the creation of a Palestinian stateNetanyahu opposes.
On Friday, Rubio and Vice President JD Vance met Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman al-Thani. Later on Friday, Trump and envoy Steve Witkoff had dinner with a New York shake.
The Trump administration is walking the delicate line between the two major allies after Israel took the battle with Hamas to the Katari capital. US proposals for a ceasefire Almost inside The war in Gaza two years ago. Qatar is a key mediator and its leaders have vowed to move forward, but the next step is uncertain due to a long-standing deal to halt hostages of combat and liberation taken from Israel.
Condemns the strike but supports Israel
Israel’s attack on Tuesday also broke Trump’s hopes to secure a wider Middle East peace deal, along with rulers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar Everything is united with anger.
Trump himself has kept his distance from the strike, saying he will not “advance Israel and the American goals” and has promised Qatar not to repeat it. The United States has also joined the UN Security Council statement denounced the strike without mentioning Israel by name.
While in Israel, Rubio will be visiting the city of David. The city of David is planning a visit, a popular archaeological site and tourist destination built by Israel in the Palestinian district of Silwan in East Jerusalem, where Israel contested.
It contains some of the oldest ruins of the city, three,000 years old. However, critics accus the site operators of promoting nationalist agendas at the expense of Palestinian residents.
Israel captured East Jerusalem, the home of the city’s most important religious location, during the 1967 Middle East War, and annexed the area.
Israel claims the entire city is an eternal, undivided capital, with Palestinians claiming East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state, including the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Competing claims lie at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and often simmer in violence.
