US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that Washington was steadfast in its support for its ally Israel's pursuit of the Gaza war and called for the eradication of Hamas.
"The people of Gaza deserve a better future, but that better future cannot begin until Hamas is eliminated," Rubio told reporters at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.
"You can count on our unwavering support," he said.
Netanyahu said Rubio's visit was a "clear message" that the United States stood with Israel and praised President Donald Trump for his backing, calling him the "greatest friend that Israel has ever had."
Rubio criticized plans by Western nations to recognize a Palestinian state, saying they "emboldened" Hamas. "They're largely symbolic... the only impact they actually have is that it makes Hamas feel more emboldened," he said.
Rubio had said he would discuss with Netanyahu Israeli plans to seize Gaza City, the territory's largest urban center, as well as the government's talk of annexing parts of the occupied West Bank in hopes of precluding a Palestinian state.
He had also said Trump wanted the Gaza war to be "finished with," which would mean the release of hostages and ensuring Hamas is "no longer a threat."
But talks were made more difficult last week when the Trump administration was caught off guard by an Israeli attack in Qatar against Hamas leaders.
"We sent a message to terrorists: you can run but you cannot hide," Netanyahu said.
The "raid didn't fail."
Rubio said Washington would continue to tell Qatar to continue its "constructive role" as an intermediary in the Gaza war.
A US official later said Rubio will travel on Tuesday to Qatar, where Arab and Muslim leaders gathered Monday to pile pressure on Israel after the attack.
Qatar's emir said at the summit that Israel had sought to derail truce talks, which Doha along with Egypt and the United States, has sought to broker between Israel and Hamas.
"Whoever works diligently and systematically to assassinate the party with whom he is negotiating intends to thwart the negotiations... Negotiations, for them, are merely part of the war," Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani said.
'Eternal Capital'
In Gaza, Israeli strikes killed another 25 people Monday, all but one in Gaza City, the Gaza civil defense agency reported.
Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the details provided by the civil defense agency or the Israeli military.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said the Israelis were pushing more people into the already overcrowded Al-Mawasi, which lacks basics such as food and water and where disease is spreading.
The war was sparked by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.
Israel's retaliatory campaign in Gaza has killed at least 64,905 people, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.
Qatar has assiduously courted Trump, including by gifting him a luxury jet.
"Qatar has been a very great ally. Israel and everyone else, we have to be careful," Trump said on Sunday.
"When we attack people, we have to be careful."
But the United States has not joined European powers in pressing Israel to end the offensive in Gaza, which they fear will aggravate the already severe humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory for its more than two million people.
Rubio opened the visit on Sunday with a highly symbolic show of support as he joined Netanyahu at the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews are allowed to pray.
Controversial Tunnel
Rubio, a devout Catholic, later posted that his visit showed his belief that Jerusalem is the "eternal capital" of Israel.
Until Trump's first term, US leaders had shied away from such overt statements backing Israeli sovereignty over contested Jerusalem, which is also holy to Muslims and Christians.
Trump moved the US embassy to Jerusalem, in a sharp break with most of the world.
Rubio is expected Monday to attend the inauguration of a tunnel for religious tourists that goes underneath the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan to the holy sites.
Fakhri Abu Diab, 63, a community spokesman in Silwan, said Rubio should instead come to see homes, such as his own, that have been demolished by Israel in what Palestinians charge is a targeted campaign to erase them.
"Instead of siding with international law, the United States is going the way of extremists and the far right and ignoring our history," he said.
Rubio played down the political implications, calling it "one of the most important archaeological sites in the world."
AFP
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