US, Israel united on Gaza, Iran
Top US diplomat Marco Rubio and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented a united front on Sunday against their common enemies, threatening to “open the gates of hell” on Hamas and “finish the job” against Iran.
The pledges came during a joint address to reporters in Jerusalem, where Rubio began his first Middle East trip as secretary of state in President Donald Trump’s new administration.
“Hamas cannot continue as a military or a government force… they must be eliminated,” Rubio said of the Palestinian group that fought Israel for more than 15 months in Gaza until a fragile ceasefire took effect on Jan 19.
Standing beside Rubio, Netanyahu said the two allies had “a common strategy”, and that “the gates of hell will be opened” if all prisoners still held in Gaza are not freed.
The comments came a day after Hamas freed three Israeli prisoners in exchange for 369 Palestinian prisoners — the sixth such swap under the ceasefire deal, which the United States helped mediate along with Qatar and Egypt.
Israel and Hamas have traded accusations of ceasefire violations.
Adding to strain on the deal, Trump has made a widely condemned proposal to take control of Gaza and relocate its more than two million residents.
“We discussed Trump’s bold vision for Gaza’s future and will work to ensure that vision becomes a reality,” Netanyahu said.
The scheme that Trump outlined earlier lacked details, but he said it would entail moving Gazans to Jordan or Egypt.
Trump said Palestinians had “lived a miserable existence” in Gaza, and suggested the coastal territory could be redeveloped into the “Riviera of the Middle East”.
‘The only plan’
Washington says it is open to alternative proposals from Arab governments, but Rubio has said that for now, “the only plan is the Trump plan”.
However, the international community, including Saudi Arabia and other Arab states, is largely in favour of a two-state solution, with a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday said the establishment of a Palestinian state was “the only guarantee” of lasting Middle East peace.
Rubio is heading to Saudi Arabia on Monday, and will also visit the United Arab Emirates.
Earlier in the day, Israel’s defence ministry said it had received a shipment of US-made 2,000-pound bombs “released by the Trump administration”.
The Biden administration had previously blocked a shipment of the munitions over fears they would be used in heavily populated parts of Gaza.
Hamas and Israel are implementing the first, 42-day phase of the ceasefire, which nearly collapsed last week.
“At any moment the fighting could resume. We hope that the calm will continue and that Egypt will pressure Israel to prevent them from restarting the war and displacing people,” said Nasser al-Astal, 62, a retired teacher in southern Gaza’s Khan Yunis.
Negotiations on a second phase of the truce, aimed at securing a more lasting end to the war, could begin this week in Doha, a Hamas official and another source familiar with the talks have said.
Shoulder to shoulder
Trump has warned of repercussions for neighbouring Egypt and Jordan unless they accept displaced Gazans under his plan.
On Sunday, Rubio said Trump showed “courage and vision” on Gaza, aiming to move past “the same tired ideas of the past”.
The Gaza war triggered violent fallout throughout the Middle East, where Iran backs fighters in Yemen and Lebanon.
Israel also fought against Hamas’s Lebanese ally Hezbollah, severely weakening it.
There were also limited direct strikes by Iran and Israel against each other.
Rubio called Iran the “single greatest source of instability in the region”.
Netanyahu said that with the support of the Trump administration, “I have no doubt that we can and will finish the job” against Iran.
“Israel and America stand shoulder to shoulder in countering the threat of Iran,” he said.
On Sunday, Hamas said an Israeli air strike killed three police officers near south Gaza’s Rafah in what the group called a “serious violation” of the truce.
It is at least the second Israeli air strike in Gaza since the ceasefire began.
