JERUSALEM — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was in Israel on Sunday as its military intensified attacks on northern Gaza, flattening multiple high-rise buildings and killing at least 13 Palestinians.
Mr. Rubio said before the trip that he would seek answers from Israeli officials about their view of a path forward in Gaza, following Israel’s attack on Hamas leaders in Qatar last week that upended efforts to broker an end to the conflict.
His two-day visit is also a show of support for an increasingly isolated Israel as the United Nations holds what is expected to be a contentious debate next week on commitment to the creation of a Palestinian state. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strongly opposes the recognition of a Palestinian state.
Mr. Rubio’s visit proceeded despite U.S. President Trump’s anger at Mr. Netanyahu over the Israeli strike in Doha, which he said the United States wasn’t notified of beforehand.
On Sunday, Mr. Netanyahu, Mr. Rubio and their wives, along with U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and his wife, toured the Western Wall and the excavated tunnels near it.
“I think his visit here is a testament to the durability, the strength of the Israeli-American alliance. It’s as strong and as durable as the stones of the Western Wall we just touched,” Mr. Netanyahu said.
On Friday, Mr. Rubio and Mr. Trump met with Qatar’s prime minister about the fallout from the Israeli operation. The back-to-back meetings with Israel and Qatar illustrate how the Trump administration is trying to balance relations between key Middle East allies despite widespread international condemnation of the attack.
The Doha attack, which killed at least six people, also appears to have ended attempts to secure an Israel-Hamas ceasefire and the release of hostages before the upcoming U.N. General Assembly session, at which the war in Gaza is expected to be a primary focus.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s prime minister denounced Israel as foreign ministers from Arab and Muslim nations met Sunday to discuss a possible unified response. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who also serves as foreign minister, said Qatar remained committed to working with Egypt and the U.S. to reach a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, but that Israel’s strike represented “an attack on the principle of mediation itself.”
On Sunday, at least 13 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded in Israeli strikes across Gaza, according to local hospitals.
As part of its expanding operation in Gaza City, the Israeli military destroyed multiple high-rise buildings Sunday after warning residents to evacuate. Some were destroyed less than an hour after an evacuation order was posted online by military spokesman Avichay Adraee.
The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. There are still 48 hostages remaining in Gaza, of whom Israel believes that 20 are still alive.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 64,871 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t say how many were civilians or combatants.
