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Agence France-Presse

Top US diplomat Marco Rubio and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented a united front on Sunday against their common enemies, threatening to “open the gates of hell” on Hamas and “finish the job” against Iran.
The pledges came during a joint address to reporters in Jerusalem, where Rubio began his first Middle East trip as secretary of state in US President Donald Trump’s new administration.
“Hamas cannot continue as a military or a government force … they must be eliminated,” Rubio said of the Palestinian Islamist group that fought Israel for more than 15 months in Gaza until a fragile ceasefire took effect on January 19.
Standing beside Rubio, Netanyahu said the two allies had “a common strategy”, and that “the gates of hell will be opened” if all hostages still held by militants in Gaza were not freed.

The comments came a day after Hamas freed three Israeli hostages in exchange for 369 Palestinian prisoners – the sixth such swap under the ceasefire deal, which the United States helped mediate along with Qatar and Egypt.
Netanyahu’s comment echoed one made by Trump ahead of Saturday’s swap. Trump had said “all hell” would break loose and that he would call for the truce deal’s cancellation if the hostages were not freed on Saturday.
Israel and Hamas have traded accusations of ceasefire violations.
Adding to strain on the deal, Trump has made a widely condemned proposal to take control of rubble-strewn Gaza and relocate its more than 2 million residents.
“We discussed Trump’s bold vision for Gaza’s future and will work to ensure that vision becomes a reality,” Netanyahu said.
The scheme that Trump outlined earlier this month while Netanyahu visited Washington lacked details, but he said it would entail moving Gazans to Jordan or Egypt.


Trump said Palestinians had “lived a miserable existence” in Gaza, and suggested the coastal territory could be redeveloped into the “Riviera of the Middle East”.
Washington, Israel’s top ally and weapons supplier, says it was open to alternative proposals from Arab governments, but Rubio has said that for now, “the only plan is the Trump plan”.
The international community, however, including Saudi Arabia and other Arab states, was largely in favour of a two-state solution, with a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on Sunday said establishment of a Palestinian state was “the only guarantee” of lasting Middle East peace.
Rubio was heading to Saudi Arabia on Monday, and would also visit the United Arab Emirates.
Hamas and Israel were implementing the first, 42-day phase of the ceasefire, which nearly collapsed last week.

“At any moment the fighting could resume. We hope that the calm will continue and that Egypt will pressure Israel to prevent them from restarting the war and displacing people,” said Nasser al-Astal, 62, a retired teacher in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis.
Since the truce began last month, 19 Israeli hostages have been released in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.
Out of 251 people seized in Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which sparked the war, 70 remained in Gaza, including 35 the Israeli military says are dead.
In a statement on Sunday, Rubio condemned Hamas’ hostage-taking and called for the immediate release of all remaining captives, living and dead, particularly five Israeli-American dual nationals.
“The fact that these terrorists continue to hold hostages and even dead bodies reflects their sick depravity,” Rubio said. “I call on our partners to help impress upon Hamas’ leaders that they are playing with fire.”
Negotiations on a second phase of the truce, aimed at securing a more lasting end to the war, could begin this week in Doha, a Hamas official and another source familiar with the talks have said.

Netanyahu’s office said he would convene a meeting of his security cabinet on Monday to discuss phase two.
Separately, it said he was also dispatching negotiators to Cairo on Monday to discuss the “continued implementation” of phase one.
The team would “receive further directives for negotiations on Phase II” after Monday’s meeting, the office said.
The Gaza war triggered violent fallout throughout the Middle East, where Iran backs militant groups including in Yemen and Lebanon.
Israel fought a related war with Hamas’ Lebanese ally Hezbollah, severely weakening it.
There were also limited direct strikes by Iran and Israel against each other.

Rubio called Iran the “single greatest source of instability in the region”.
Netanyahu said that with the support of the Trump administration, “I have no doubt that we can and will finish the job” against Iran.
The October 7, 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,211 people, mostly civilians, according to an Agence France-Presse tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 48,271 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers reliable.
On Sunday, Hamas said an Israeli air strike killed three police officers near south Gaza’s Rafah in what the militant group called a “serious violation” of the truce.
Israel said it had struck “several armed individuals” in south Gaza.
It was at least the second Israeli air strike in Gaza since the ceasefire began.


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‘Open the gates of hell’: US and Israel present united front on Gaza and Iran

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday. Photo: AFP

Israeli forces near the border with Gaza, in Israel. Photo: Reuters

Argentinian-Israeli Iair Horn in a helicopter after he was released from Gaza on Saturday. Photo: Reuters

Hamas fighters arrive for the handover of Israeli captives in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, on Saturday. Photo: AP

Tents between the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip. Photo: AP

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with Donald Trump during his first presidency in September 2020. Netanyahu was in Washington on Monday for talks with the new Trump administration. Photo: Reuters

Palestinians make their way along a road amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in southern Gaza on Monday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Trump signals he won’t budge on Gaza takeover plan as he meets Jordan’s king

US President Donald Trump greets Jordan’s King Abdullah as he arrives for a meeting at the White House on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

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US walks back on Trump’s Gaza comments, but Arab leaders remain fearful

US President Donald Trump welcomes Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House on Tuesday. Photo: TNS

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Jordan’s King Abdullah II receives Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas in Amman on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth meets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Pentagon on Wednesday. Photo: EPA-EFE

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Former British prime minister John Major. File photo: EPA

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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio endorses Israel’s war aims in Gaza, says Hamas must be eliminated


US Secretary of State Marco Rubio endorses Israel’s war aims in Gaza, says Hamas must be eliminated.


‘Open the gates of hell’: US and Israel present united front on Gaza and Iran

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}US Secretary of State Marco Rubio endorses Israel’s war aims in Gaza, says Hamas must be eliminated

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio endorses Israel’s war aims in Gaza, says Hamas must be eliminated