Rubio to press Israel on Gaza’s future during official visit

TEL AVIV: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio landed in Israel on Sunday for an official visit, less than a week after Israeli forces struck Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar. The visit coincides with intensified Israeli operations in the Gaza Strip.

The Israel Defence Forces said on Sunday that among the terrorists eliminated in recent operations was Yousef Mahmoud Muhammad Jumaa, a Hamas cell commander involved in the massacre of 22 people at Kibbutz Alumim during October 7, 2023. The IDF said Jumaa was also responsible for planning and carrying out multiple attacks on other Israeli targets during the war.

Speaking before his departure from Washington, Rubio stressed that the US disapproved of Israel’s strike in Qatar but insisted the incident would not undermine the bilateral alliance. “It’s not going to change the nature of our relationship with the Israelis, but we are going to have to talk about it — primarily, what impact does this have” on truce efforts, he said. Rubio noted he would seek answers from Israeli leaders about their vision for Gaza’s future.

Israeli officials indicated that last week’s strike failed to eliminate the most senior targeted Hamas leaders, who had gathered in Doha to discuss a US-backed ceasefire proposal.

Rubio also outlined US President Donald Trump’s position, saying 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. And we’ll have to discuss how the events last week had an impact on the ability to achieve that in short order.”

Also on Sunday morning, the military’s Arabic-language spokesperson, Col Avichay Adraee, urged Gaza City residents to evacuate the vicinity of the Al-Kawthar Tower. According to the IDF, Hamas has installed intelligence-gathering equipment, planted explosive devices, and set up observation posts in various high-rises.

More than 250,000 residents of Gaza City have fled in recent days, according to IDF estimates.

Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) announced on Sunday morning that nearly 2,000 aid trucks were collected and distributed from Gaza’s side of the Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings last week, while more than 1,200 trucks carrying food and other supplies entered through Israel. COGAT is a unit in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) that coordinates civilian issues in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza.

Approximately 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 48 remaining hostages, about 20 are believed to be alive. (ANI/TPS)