Top US diplomat Marco Rubio has arrived in Israel, where he is set to meet its PM Benjamin Netanyahu in the wake of Tel Aviv’s strike on Qatar last week, Al Jazeera reports.

Before boarding the plane, Rubio told reporters that while US President Donald Trump was “not happy” about the strike, it was “not going to change the nature of our relationship with the Israelis”.

“The president wants this to be finished with. And finished with meaning 48 hostages released all at once. Hamas is no longer a threat, so we can move on to the next phase, which is, how do you rebuild Gaza,” he was quoted as saying.

 Displaced Palestinians evacuating southbound from Gaza City travel on foot and by vehicle along the coastal road in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip on Sept 13, 2025. — AFP
Displaced Palestinians evacuating southbound from Gaza City travel on foot and by vehicle along the coastal road in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip on Sept 13, 2025. — AFP

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