US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has endorsed Israel’s stated war aims in the Gaza enclave, saying Hamas “must be eradicated,” throwing the future of the uncertain ceasefire in more doubt.
Rubio, who is on a three-day visit to the Middle East, met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in West Jerusalem on Sunday.
“The president has also been very bold, not with the same tired ideas of the past but with something new,” Rubio told reporters.
Netanyahu welcomed the plan, also referring to it as “bold,” and said he and Trump have a “common strategy” for Gaza’s future.
Echoing Trump, he said “the gates of hell would be open” if Hamas does not release dozens of remaining captives abducted in its October 7, 2023 attack that preceded the war.
Rubio said Hamas “cannot continue as a military or government force.”
He said, “As long as it stands as a force that can govern or as a force that can administer or as a force that can threaten by use of violence, peace becomes impossible.”
Steve Witkoff said that both sides spoke about phase two, setting forth a position on both sides, “We can understand… where we are today, and then continue talks this week at a local to be determined so that we can figure out how we get to the end of phase two successfully.”
Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s office on Sunday confirmed that an Israeli negotiating team would fly to Cairo on Monday for more talks on the ceasefire agreement and its subsequent implementation.
Osama Hamdan, a senior spokesperson for Hamas, told reporters that Israeli plans to force Palestinians out of Gaza are not new and have been voiced before, including during the first and the second Intifadas.
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Trump “has no clue about the resistance of the Palestinians. He has no clue about how the Palestinians are connected to their homeland,” Hamdan said.
He said, “Gaza is not a real estate project like President Trump is thinking; it’s a homeland.”
The more Israelis try to eliminate us, the stronger we become,” he said.
Following the meeting with Rubio, Netanyahu said Israel and the US are both determined to thwart Iran’s nuclear ambitions and its “aggression” in the Middle East.
“Behind every terrorist group, behind every act of violence, behind every destabilising activity, and behind everything that threatens peace and stability for the millions of people that call this region home is Iran,” Rubio said.
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