U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Israel on Sunday (September 14), stepping into a region already fraught with tension following Israel’s strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar and its plans to expand settlements in the West Bank.
Rubio and his wife, Jeanette Dousdebes, were greeted by U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee upon landing at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv.
Speaking to reporters before departure from Washington, Rubio acknowledged President Donald Trump’s displeasure over the Doha strike but stressed that it would not shake the U.S.-Israel alliance. “Obviously, we were not happy about it. The president was not happy with it. Now we need to move forward and figure out what comes next,” he said. “At the end of the day, when all is said and done, there is still a group called Hamas, which is an evil group that still has weapons and is terrorizing.”
Rubio said he would raise with Israeli officials how the strike might affect Trump’s goals of securing the release of all hostages, dismantling Hamas, and ending the war in Gaza. “It’s not going to change the nature of our relationship with the Israelis. But we are going to have to talk about it,” he noted.
The secretary of state also addressed Qatar’s role, after its capital was struck in last week’s air raid. Asked if Doha would still cooperate with Washington, he replied: “We have a relationship with them as well. They’ve been good partners on a number of fronts.”
Rubio also plans to visit Jerusalem’s City of David archaeological site, describing it as an extraordinary place of global significance and rejecting suggestions that the stop was politically motivated.
Israel insists its actions are in self-defence following Hamas’s October 2023 attack, which killed 1,200 people and saw more than 250 hostages taken.
After his stop in Israel, Rubio is expected to join President Trump during his planned visit to Britain next week.
Overnight Russian strikes on the city of Sumy, northeast Ukraine, have killed one woman and injured a man, the country's State Emergency Servic...
Iran's military has threatened to launch sustained attacks on U.S. bases and interests across the Middle East if Washington resumes milita...
The Left Party won Sunday's Berlin state election with 25.5 per cent of the vote in the preliminary result, ahead of the Christian Democra...
Saudi civil defence sent an all-clear on Saturday after issuing alerts for a second time for potential danger in Riyadh and the city of Al-Kharj east of the capital, amid an uptick in attacks by Iran-aligned Houthis on the Gulf country.
Houthi attacks target Riyadh amid concerns over Saudi oil supplies, as Iran says it will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until its conditions are met and U.S. commitments are implemented, parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Sunday.
The U.S. State Department approved a $2.7 billion military sale to Ukraine for air-defence development upgrades, along with related equipment and services, the department said. Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities reported at least 10 people had died in Russian attacks over the last 24 hours.
The death toll from an overnight Russian attack on the Kyiv region rose to four, including three children, Kyiv regional authorities said on Sunday. A mother and her two 3-year-old children were killed when a Russian drone strike hit a private home, the emergency service said.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that additional news organisations could be barred from the White House, hours after announcing bans on CNN, MS NOW and Politico over coverage he described as “fake news”.
Overnight Russian strikes on the city of Sumy, northeast Ukraine, have killed one woman and injured a man, the country's State Emergency Service has said.
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has prepared sanctions targeting the entire International Criminal Court (ICC) and could announce them soon, escalating Washington's efforts to pressure the global tribunal.
French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney pledged closer ties on Sunday as they sought to strengthen cooperation on geopolitical tensions, climate change, energy and the protection of democratic values.
The Left Party won Sunday's Berlin state election with 25.5 per cent of the vote in the preliminary result, ahead of the Christian Democrats (CDU) on 19.1 per cent. This marks a major shift in the city's political landscape and a setback for Chancellor Friedrich Merz's ruling coalition.
German voters cast ballots on Sunday in two state elections that could add to the political pressure on Chancellor Friedrich Merz, as his government faces growing public frustration and a resurgent far right.
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