US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has fully approved the objectives of the War of Israel in the Gaza Strip, claiming that Hamas “must be eradicated” and throwing the future of the cease-fire trembling in a more doubt far.
Rubio met on Sunday Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in West Jerusalem at the start of a regional tour, where he is likely to face editors of Arab leaders on the proposal of the American president Donald Trump to move the Palestinian population of the band de Gaza and redevelop it under the ownership of the United States, a plan that human rights organizations have called ethnic cleaning.
“The president was also very daring, not the same tired ideas of the past, but something new,” Rubio told journalists.
Netanyahu praised the plan, also referring to him as “daring”, and said that he and Trump had a “common strategy” for the future of Gaza.
Echoing Trump, he said that “the doors of hell would be open” if Hamas did not release dozens of remaining captives removed during his attack on October 7, 2023 which preceded the war.
The leaders’ remarks occurred just two weeks before the first phase of the ceasefire in the War of Israel against Gaza, which killed more than 61,700 Palestinians, should end. The second phase – in which Hamas must release dozens of remaining captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, a sustainable truce and the withdrawal of Israeli forces – has not yet been negotiated.
Rubio said Hamas “cannot continue as military or government force”.
“As long as it is a force that can govern or as a force that can administer or as a force that can threaten by the use of violence, peace becomes impossible,” said Rubio. “It must be eradicated.”
Such a language could complicate efforts to continue the talks with Hamas, which, despite heavy losses in the war, remains intact and the control of Gaza.
The American envoy of the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, said on Sunday that talks on the second phase of the ceasefire would continue this week, after having “very productive and constructive” calls with Netanyahu, as well as the Director of Intelligence and Prime Minister Qatari and Qatari Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Bin Jassim Al Thani.
“(We have spoken) of the sequencing of phase two, of the implementation of positions on both sides, so that we can understand … where we are today, then continue the discussions this week in a room to be determined in order to be determined in order to be determined in order to be determined in order to be That we can understand how we are successful at the end of phase two, “said Witkoff.
Netanyahu’s office confirmed on Sunday that an Israeli negotiation team would fly to Cairo on Monday for more discussions on the Gaza ceasefire agreement and its implementation.
Former American diplomat Nabeel Khoury said that Rubio broke with the traditional configuration so that the American diplomats first meet the Israeli government and then the Palestinian authority, which has a certain control in occupied West Bank.
“Rubio does not do that. This therefore diverts the Palestinian authority despite all the amenities and all the cooperation and the collaboration it has given to the Israeli government, “he told Tel Aviv Tribune.
“The next judgment after Israel is going to be Riyadh and perhaps the United Arab Emirates,” added Khoury, arguing that this is part of “Trump’s vision … who reconstructs Gaza less the Palestinian population”.
Osama Hamdan, a main spokesperson for Hamas, told Tel Aviv Tribune that Israeli planned to force Palestinians from Gaza are not new and had been expressed before, including in the first and second intifadas.
Trump “has no idea of the resistance of the Palestinians. He has no idea how Palestinians are linked to their homeland, “said Hamdan, noting” it is not real estate. It’s a homeland.
He added that whenever Israeli officials have spoken of the “elimination” of Hamas, the group has only become “stronger”.
With Trump, “we will finish work”
After the meeting with Rubio, Netanyahu said that Israel and the United States are both determined to thwart Iran’s nuclear ambitions and its “attack” in the Middle East.
“Behind all terrorist groups, behind all acts of violence, behind all destabilizing activities, behind everything that threatens peace and stability for the millions of people who call this region is Iran,” said Rubio.
Netanyahu said that Israel had brought a “powerful blow” to Iran in the last 16 months since the war in Gaza against Hamas and said that with Trump’s support “I have no doubt that we can and will finish the work “.
He said that Israel had weakened the Lebanese Shiite group from Hezbollah and had reached hundreds of targets in Syria to prevent a new front supported by Iran from opening Israel.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army said it had made an air strike early Sunday on people who approached its forces in southern Gaza.
The Gaza Interior Ministry said that the strike had killed three of its police when they obtained the entrance to rescue trucks near Rafah, on the Egyptian border.
Hamas said the attack was a “serious violation” of the ceasefire and accused Netanyahu of having tried to sabotage the agreement.
Hamdan told Tel Aviv Tribune that Netanyahu and the actions of his government suggest that “the ceasefire is in danger”, but Hamas will do its best to continue the agreement.
“I will be clear in there,” he said. “If Netanyahu decides to attack Gaza another time, it will not be (easy) for him.”