Rubio says Hamas ‘must be eradicated’ casting doubt on the shaky Gaza ceasefire deal
US secretary of state endorses Israel’s war aims in the Gaza Strip during meeting with Israeli PM Netanyahu
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has fully endorsed Israel’s war aims in the Gaza Strip, saying Hamas “must be eradicated” and throwing the future of the shaky ceasefire into further doubt
Rubio met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in West Jerusalem on Sunday at the start of a regional tour, where he is likely to face pushback from Arab leaders over US President Donald Trump’s proposal to "displace" the Palestinian population from the Gaza Strip and redevelop it under United States ownership, a plan that human rights organisations have called ethnic cleansing
Rubio told reporters,
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“President Trump has also been very bold, not the same tired ideas of the past but something new”
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, Netanyahu said,
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“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
