Rubio to use visit to Israel to seek answers on way forward after Qatar strike

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he will be seeking answers from Israeli officials about how they see the way forward in Gaza following Israel’s attack on Hamas operatives in Qatar that has upended efforts to broker an end to the conflict.

Speaking before leaving for Israel, Mr Rubio said President Donald Trump remains unhappy with the Israeli strike but that it does not shake US support for Israel.

“We’re going to talk about what the future holds, and I’m going to get a much better understanding of what their plans are moving forward,” Mr Rubio said.

“Obviously we’re not happy about it. The president was not happy about it. Now we need to move forward and figure out what comes next.”

Mr Rubio and Mr Trump met on Friday with Qatar’s prime minister to discuss the fallout from the Israeli operation, in a demonstration of how the Trump administration is trying to balance relations between key Middle East allies days after Israel targeted Hamas leaders in a strike on Doha.

The attack has drawn widespread international condemnation and appears to have ended attempts to secure an Israel-Hamas ceasefire and the release of hostages ahead of the upcoming UN General Assembly session at which the Gaza war is expected to be a primary focus.

Mr Trump “wants Hamas defeated, he wants the war to end, he wants all 48 hostages home, including those that are deceased, and he wants it all at once”, he said.

“We’ll have to discuss about how the events last week had an impact on the ability to achieve that in short order,” he added.

Mr Rubio will have meetings in Jerusalem on Sunday and Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others.

His visit is a show of support for the increasingly isolated country before the United Nations holds what is likely to be a contentious debate on the creation of a Palestinian state, which Mr Netanyahu opposes.

The Trump administration is walking a delicate line between two major allies after Israel took its fight with Hamas to the Qatari capital, where leaders of the militant group had gathered to consider a US proposal for a ceasefire in the nearly two-year war in Gaza.

Qatar is a key mediator, and while its leaders have vowed to press forward, the next steps are uncertain for a long-sought deal to halt the fighting and release hostages taken from Israel.