Jerusalem – US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Israel on Monday that the United States backed the “constructive role” by Qatar in mediating in Gaza, after an Israeli strike on the Gulf state against Hamas.
President Donald Trump and Rubio have both said they opposed the attack last week on Qatar, which is home to the largest US air base in the Middle East. Asked what he told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Rubio said, “We are focused on what happens now, what happens next, what role can Qatar play possibly in reaching an outcome” to end the Gaza war.
“We’re going to continue to encourage Qatar to play a constructive role in that regard,” Rubio told a joint news conference with Netanyahu.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday discussed the Gaza war with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after Israel’s strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar caused US unease and threatened to derail already flailing attempts to reach a ceasefire. Rubio scheduled a solidarity visit a week before a French-led summit at the United Nations to recognise a Palestinian state, a prospect fervently opposed by Netanyahu’s right-wing government. But talks were made more difficult last week when President Donald Trump’s administration was caught off guard by an Israeli attack in Qatar against Hamas leaders who were meeting to discuss a new US ceasefire proposal for Gaza.
Rubio met with Netanyahu one-on-one for about an hour and a half before starting an expanded meeting with aides, according to a US official.
Rubio said he would speak to Netanyahu about Israeli military plans to seize Gaza City, the largest urban centre in the devastated territory, as well as the government’s talk of annexing parts of the occupied West Bank in hopes of precluding a Palestinian state.
Rubio said Trump wants the Gaza war to be “finished with” — which would mean the release of hostages and ensuring Hamas is “no longer a threat”.
