U.S. secretary of state says Hamas rule must end in visit to Jerusalem

TEL AVIV, Israel – U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas must not remain the ruling force in the Gaza Strip at a joint news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday.

“As long as (Hamas) stands as a force that can govern or administer or a force that can threaten by use of violence, peace becomes impossible,” Rubio said, emphasizing that Hamas must be destroyed.

Speaking after their meeting in Jerusalem, Netanyahu and Rubio reiterated that Iran must not be allowed to develop or possess nuclear weapons and accused Tehran of stoking instability.

“Behind every terrorist group, behind every act of violence, behind every destabilizing activity, behind everything that threatens peace and stability for the millions of people that call this region home is Iran,” Rubio said.

They also called for the disarmament of the Lebanese militia Hezbollah. At the same time, Netanyahu emphasized that Israel was committed to the ongoing ceasefire in Lebanon.

Rubio praised U.S. President Donald Trump for his “courage” in proposing a plan for the future of the Gaza Strip that went beyond the “tired ideas” of the past.

Trump recently caused outrage among Arab nations and rights groups by proposing the permanent resettlement of Gaza’s approximately 2 million inhabitants to Arab states and the transformation of the devastated coastal area into a “Riviera of the Middle East.”

Netanyahu said he was working in “full cooperation” with Trump on a “common strategy,” adding that Trump is “the greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White House.”

Before his trip, Rubio had called on Arab states to present their proposals regarding the future of the Gaza Strip.

Rubio is also due to speak with his counterpart Gideon Saar and President Isaac Herzog. He then plans to travel to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

While Netanyahu reportedly consulted internally about the future of the ceasefire agreement, around 1,000 people demonstrated in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening for the full implementation of the deal, according to the Times of Israel.

The protesters accused Netanyahu of wanting to thwart the continuation of the ceasefire to remain in power, the Times of Israel reported.

They fear for the fate of the remaining hostages, with 73 still being held in Gaza, of which 36 are presumed to be dead.

In Gaza, meanwhile, three Hamas police officers were killed in an Israeli airstrike, Palestinian sources said.

A civilian was also injured when an Israeli drone fired on a group in the east of Rafah city in the south of the Gaza Strip, Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas stated that the deceased were police officers for the organization who had been securing humanitarian aid deliveries. They called this a “serious violation” by Israel of the ceasefire agreement.

For its part, the Israeli military reported that several armed individuals approached Israeli troops in the southern Gaza Strip.

Subsequently, they were attacked by the air force, and “hits were identified,” the military said. It reiterated calls to residents of the Gaza Strip not to approach the troops stationed there.