Netanyahu reaffirms U.S. alliance as Rubio visits Jerusalem after Qatar strikes

Doha, Qatar – The visit of Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Israel sends a “clear message” of support, said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, because he appeared that a key negotiator of Qatari narrowly avoided an Israeli strike because his meeting was delayed.

Rubio landed in Jerusalem on Sunday in search of Israel responses after his unprecedented attack on Hamas leaders inside Qatar, another key American partner in the Middle East. The Trump administration sought to be a distant from the strike, which indignant regional powers and could have increased even more.

The key negotiator of Qatar, who speaks regularly with Israel and Hamas, was to be at the villa that Israel struck on Tuesday, a diplomat told the talks at NBC News. At the last moment, his meeting with Hamas was delayed, they said.

Rubio said on Saturday that the United States was unhappy with the attack on the Qatar capital building, Doha, but Netanyahu stressed the sustainable American-Israeli alliance when the two spoke to journalists.

“America does not have the best ally than Israel, and of course, Israel does not have the best ally than America,” he said, adding that President Donald Trump is the “biggest friend” that Israel has ever had in the White House.

“Your visit to Israel today is a clear message that the United States is holding with Israel,” he told Rubio.

Rubio also promised “unshakable support” for Israel’s objectives in Gaza, saying that Hamas must be “eliminated” and that the hostages have returned “immediately”.

“As much as we wish that there is a kind in a peaceful and diplomatic diplomatic way to end it, and we will continue to explore and devote ourselves to it, we must also be prepared for the possibility that this does not happen,” he added.

Despite the public show of the unit, Rubio’s trip underlines the delicate effort of Washington to balance relations with the key allies while managing the fallout from the attack.

Rubio will go to Qatar on Tuesday after meeting Netanyahu in Israel, then headed for the United Kingdom, according to a senior state department.

Qatar began to organize a summit of Arab and Muslim leaders on Sunday following strikes, which attracted the condemnation of the United Arab Emirates, from Saudi Arabia and other regional powers.

The Supreme Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council said in a statement on Monday that the attack was “a blatant aggression against the efforts of the international community and its international organizations aimed at making a cease-fire in the Gaza International Strip and the Liberation of hostages and detainees, and constitutes a blatant violation of international law.”

The United Nations Human Rights Council said it would be an urgent debate on Tuesday to “discuss the recent military assault” by Israel on Qatar.

Trump met Prime Minister Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in New York on Friday on Friday, a few days after the Israel strike. The Qatari Prime Minister, who accused Israel of having “killed all hope” of publishing hostages still held in Gaza, also met Rubio and Vice-President JD Vance.

Elsewhere, Israeli forces have intensified air attacks against the city of Gaza struck by famine and neighboring areas in recent weeks, as part of an operation to occupy the city.