Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Israel this weekend to discuss with officials the latest developments in the war in Gaza, the State Department said Friday.
“In Israel, he will convey America’s priorities in the Israel-Hamas conflict and broader issues concerning Middle Eastern security, reaffirming the U.S. commitment to Israeli security,” State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Piggot said in a statement. “He will also emphasize our shared goals: ensuring Hamas never rules over Gaza again and bringing all the hostages home.”
The visit comes at a moment of high tension for the longtime allies following Israel’s attempted assassination of Hamas leaders on Qatari soil earlier this week. Israel’s strikes in the middle of peace negotiations to end the war in Gaza have outraged Qatar, a key mediator in the war, as well as other key U.S. allies in the region and the Trump administration has attempted to distance itself from the action.
“The unilateral bombing inside Qatar, a sovereign nation working very hard and bravely taking risks alongside the United States to broker peace, does not advance Israel’s or America’s goals,” Dorothy Shea, the acting U.S. permanent representative to the UN, said Thursday at an emergency Security Council session.
President Donald Trump told reporters Tuesday that he was "very unhappy" with the Israeli strikes.
“I was very unhappy about it, very unhappy about every aspect, and we got to get the hostages back. But I was very unhappy about the way that went down,” he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened further strikes on Qatar if it continues to host Hamas, which Qatar has done for years at the request of the U.S. Qatar, along with Egypt, had also been helping mediate ceasefire talks between Hamas and Israel.
“I say to Qatar and all nations who harbor terrorists, you either expel them or you bring them to justice,” Netanyahu said Wednesday. “Because if you don’t, we will.”
Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Thani, who met with Trump on Friday, also attended the meeting at the U.N. and accused Israel of undermining negotiations to end the war. Al-Thani also met with Rubio and Vice President JD Vance at the White House on Friday for a meeting that a source familiar with the meeting described as "very positive."
“Attacking our territories while we were busy with negotiations has uncovered the intention of Israel. It is trying to undermine any prospect of peace. It is trying to perpetuate the suffering of the Palestinian people,” Al Thani said. “It also shows that extremists that rule Israel today do not care about the hostages. This is not a priority.”
Rubio will also meet with the families of hostages while in Israel, according to the State Department and “underscore that their relatives’ return remains a top priority.” Rubio and Israeli leaders will also discuss “Israeli operational goals and objectives,” for their ongoing ground offensive in Gaza, the department said.
The visit also comes just a week before several countries, including France, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom, are expected to formally recognize a Palestinian state. Bezalel Smotrich, the far-right Israeli finance minister, has called for the annexation of 82% of the West Bank to block their vision of a future Palestinian state from becoming a reality.
Speaking earlier this month, Rubio called Israel’s retaliation “wholly predictable,” and said he had warned his European allies that their actions would create “big problems,” and “make it harder to get a ceasefire.” Rubio added that it is not inevitable.
“As for what you’re seeing with the West Bank and the annexation, that’s not a final thing,” Rubio said at a news conference in September. “That’s something that’s being discussed among some elements of Israeli politics.”
In Israel this week, Rubio will discuss the U.S. “commitment to fight anti-Israel actions,” including unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state that rewards Hamas terrorism, and lawfare at the ICC and ICJ,” the State Department announced.
Rubio will then travel to the U.K., where he will meet with new U.K. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper to discuss U.S.-U.K. "cooperation on critical global challenges, including ending the Russia-Ukraine war, preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, ensuring release of all Hamas-held hostages and a ceasefire in Gaza, and competing with China.”
