U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed full support for Israel’s war aims in the Gaza Strip and said Hamas -- deemed a terrorist organization by the United States and European Union -- “must be eradicated.”
“As long as [Hamas] 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,” Rubio said in a joint news conference with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on February 16.
SEE ALSO: U.S. Officials Heading to Saudi Arabia For Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks"It must be eradicated,” he said of the extremist group that controlled Gaza before Israel military’s 16-month campaign eliminated much of its leadership.
Rubio said Gaza cannot be allowed to remain as a military or government force.
Rubio and Netanyahu later reiterated that Iran will not be allowed to develop or possess nuclear weapons and accused Tehran of fomenting instability the region.
The top U.S. diplomat will also visit the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) and Saudi Arabia, where he’s likely to face pushback to President Donald Trump’s proposal to move the Palestinian population out of Gaza and redevelop it under U.S. ownership.
On February 4, Trump told Netanyahu at a White House news conference that "the U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it, too. We'll own it." He said Palestinians currently living there would be moved to Arab nations in the Middle East.
Netanyahu has welcomed Trump’s plan and said he and the U.S. president have a “common goal” in Gaza.
Media reports have stated that Saudi Arabia is leading an urgent effort by Arab nations to develop a plan for Gaza to counter Trump's proposal. Egypt, Jordan, and the U.A.E. are reportedly involved in the effort.
Israel and Hamas have reached a cease-fire deal that mostly ended the fighting that was triggered by the extremist group’s invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023, that killed some 1,200 people.
But the truce remains fragile, even Hamas frees Israeli hostages in exchange for Tel Aviv’s release of imprisoned Palestinians.
On February 16, Israel said it carried out an air strike on people who approached troops in southern Gaza. Hamas said the strike killed three police officers who were securing entry of aid trucks near the Rafah crossing at the Egyptian border. The reports could not be verified.
Netanyahu and Trump have threatened to restart the war if Hamas doesn't release the last of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas during the invasion.
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Why Trump's Gaza Proposal Is Stirring Global Controversy
Under the terms of the cease-fire deal brokered by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt, the first phase was to last 42 days, to be followed by another round of negotiations to start on February 3.
Those talks were delayed, but officials have said the second round is expected to begin soon.
In the second phase, Hamas would free remaining hostages in exchange for the release of additional Palestinian prisoners, leading to a lasting truce, and the withdrawal Israel’s troops from the Strip.
Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, told Fox News that “phase two is absolutely going to begin” soon at an undisclosed location.
He said he had "very productive" calls with Netanyahu, Qatari Prime Minister Muhammad bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad.
Netanyahu's office said his security Cabinet would meet on February 17 to discuss the second phase.
Rubio and Witkoff are expected to meet with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia in the coming days to discuss the war in Ukraine.