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Rubio to visit Middle East after Trump proposal for US to take over Gaza

Update Rubio to visit Middle East after Trump proposal for US to take over Gaza
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. (AFP)
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Updated 07 February 2025

Rubio to visit Middle East after Trump proposal for US to take over Gaza

Rubio to visit Middle East after Trump proposal for US to take over Gaza
  • Rubio is planning to travel to the region after the Munich security conference

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit Israel and Arab states in mid-February, a State Department official said, making his first to the Middle East after a widely condemned proposal by President Donald Trump to displace Palestinians in Gaza.
Rubio will travel to the Munich Security Conference and to Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and 海角直播 from February 13-18, the senior State Department official said late on Thursday.
Rights groups have condemned Trump鈥檚 suggestion that Palestinians in Gaza should be permanently displaced as part of a US takeover of the enclave.
Rubio said on Wednesday that Palestinians in the enclave will have to relocate in the 鈥渋nterim鈥 while it is rebuilt following the Israel-Gaza war.
The US official said Rubio would discuss Gaza and the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas on Israel during the trip, and would pursue Trump鈥檚 approach of trying to disrupt the status quo in the region.
鈥淭he status quo can鈥檛 continue. It鈥檚 like wash, rinse and repeat. It becomes familiar and you begin to think this is just what life is and what we have to expect. President Trump and Marco Rubio believe that that鈥檚 not the case, that things can change,鈥 the official said.
Since Jan. 25, Trump has repeatedly suggested that Palestinians in Gaza should be taken in by regional Arab nations such as Egypt and Jordan, an idea rejected by Arab states and by Palestinians. Trump鈥檚 suggestion echoed long-standing Palestinian fears of being permanently driven from their homes.
US ally Israel鈥檚 military assault on Gaza, now paused by a fragile ceasefire, has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians in the last 16 months, the Gaza health ministry says, and provoked accusations of genocide and war crimes that Israel denies.
The assault internally displaced nearly all of Gaza鈥檚 population and caused a hunger crisis.
The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered on October 7, 2023, when Palestinian Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking some 250 hostages, Israeli tallies show.


Trump says Israel-Hamas ceasefire still in place after Gaza strikes

Trump says Israel-Hamas ceasefire still in place after Gaza strikes
Updated 20 October 2025

Trump says Israel-Hamas ceasefire still in place after Gaza strikes

Trump says Israel-Hamas ceasefire still in place after Gaza strikes
  • He suggested that Hamas leadership was not involved in any alleged breaches and instead blamed 鈥渟ome rebels within鈥
  • 鈥淏ut either way, it鈥檚 going to be handled properly. It鈥檚 going to be handled toughly, but properly,鈥 Trump added

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said Sunday that the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was still in effect after the Israeli military carried out deadly strikes on Gaza over apparent truce violations by the Palestinian armed group.
鈥淵eah, it is,鈥 Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One when asked if the ceasefire was still in place. He also suggested that Hamas leadership was not involved in any alleged breaches and instead blamed 鈥渟ome rebels within.鈥
鈥淏ut either way, it鈥檚 going to be handled properly. It鈥檚 going to be handled toughly, but properly,鈥 Trump added.
Israel said it had resumed enforcing the Gaza ceasefire after it struck Hamas positions Sunday, having accused the group of targeting its troops in the most serious violence since the nine-day-old truce began.
Gaza鈥檚 civil defense agency, which operates under Hamas authority, said at least 45 people had been killed across the territory in Israeli strikes. Israel鈥檚 military said it was looking into the reports of casualties.
Trump expressed hope that the ceasefire he helped broker would hold.
鈥淲e want to make sure that it鈥檚 going to be very peaceful with Hamas,鈥 he said.
鈥淎s you know, they鈥檝e been quite rambunctious. They鈥檝e been doing some shooting, and we think maybe the leadership isn鈥檛 involved in that.鈥
Shortly before Trump鈥檚 comments, his vice president, JD Vance, downplayed the renewed violence in Gaza, telling reporters there would be 鈥渇its and starts鈥 in the truce.
鈥淗amas is going to fire on Israel. Israel is going to have to respond,鈥 he said.
鈥淪o we think that it has the best chance for a sustainable peace. But even if it does that, it鈥檚 going to have hills and valleys, and we鈥檙e going to have to monitor the situation.鈥
The truce in the Palestinian territory, which took effect on October 10, halted more than two years of devastating war that has seen Israel kill tens of thousands and reduce much of Gaza to rubble, after Hamas鈥檚 October 7, 2023, attack.
The deal established the outline for hostage and prisoner exchanges, and was proposed alongside an ambitious roadmap for Gaza鈥檚 future. But it has quickly faced challenges to its implementation.
Vance called on Gulf Arab countries to establish a 鈥渟ecurity infrastructure鈥 in order to ensure that Hamas is disarmed, a key part of the peace deal.
鈥淭he Gulf Arab states, our allies, don鈥檛 have the security infrastructure in place yet to confirm that Hamas is disarmed,鈥 he said.
Vance said that a member of the Trump administration was 鈥渃ertainly鈥 going to visit Israel 鈥渋n the next few days鈥 to monitor the situation.
He did not confirm who that would be, but said 鈥渋t might be me.鈥
 


Tunnels, cages, pits: Relatives of Gaza hostages recount dire conditions in captivity

Tunnels, cages, pits: Relatives of Gaza hostages recount dire conditions in captivity
Updated 20 October 2025

Tunnels, cages, pits: Relatives of Gaza hostages recount dire conditions in captivity

Tunnels, cages, pits: Relatives of Gaza hostages recount dire conditions in captivity
  • UN-backed experts reported in August that part of the territory was facing famine, a claim disputed by Israel

TEL AVIV: Relatives of the last Israeli hostages released from Gaza after two years in captivity said their loved ones endured harrowing conditions, with some reportedly held in cages, pits or underground tunnels.
Last week, Hamas freed all 20 surviving hostages as agreed in a US-brokered ceasefire deal with Israel.
Among them was Omri Miran.
鈥淎t the beginning, there were five hostages in a cage measuring 1.8 meters by 1.6 meters (six feet by five),鈥 his brother Boaz Miran told Israel Hayom newspaper.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 stand up in there, you have to bend.鈥
Fellow hostage Guy Gilboa Dalal was 24 at the time of his abduction in the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas that triggered the war.
He was held captive by Palestinian militants together with his childhood friend Evyatar David.
In August, Hamas released a propaganda video showing David severely malnourished and visibly weakened as he was seen digging his own grave inside a tunnel.
鈥淲e have all seen the video of Evyatar David in captivity 鈥 he was nothing but skin and bones,鈥 said Guy Gilboa Dalal鈥檚 brother Gal.
鈥淕uy was in exactly the same condition,鈥 he told AFP.
鈥淗amas starved them in order to turn them into visible examples of hunger,鈥 he said, referring to the food scarcity that resulted from a blockade imposed by Israel on the Gaza Strip earlier this year after a previous ceasefire broke down.
UN-backed experts reported in August that part of the territory was facing famine, a claim disputed by Israel.
The hostage鈥檚 brother also described psychological abuse.
鈥淭hey were told multiple lies 鈥 that the Israeli army was looking for them in order to kill them. They were shown other hostages who, they were told, had been deliberately killed by Israeli forces,鈥 Gal Gilboa Dalal said.
鈥淭hey have a very long road ahead of them, physically and mentally,鈥 he added.
Contacted by AFP, a Hamas official speaking on condition of anonymity said the Palestinian Islamist movement and its allies 鈥渢reated the detainees under their custody in accordance with the teachings of Islam, in a very ethical and humane manner.鈥
The official said the hostages 鈥渓ived in the same conditions as their guards鈥 and received 鈥渕edical and psychological care and food according to what was available in Gaza.鈥
鈥淣o captive was subjected to insults or torture... unlike the treatment of Palestinian prisoners by (Israel),鈥 the official claimed.
While none of the 20 former hostages has yet spoken publicly, their relatives have relayed details of their captivity.

- Without oxygen -

In The Times of Israel on Wednesday, Tami Braslavski said her son Rom Braslavski had been flogged and beaten between April and July 鈥渨ith objects I won鈥檛 even mention.鈥
Avinatan Or, who was held alone for two years, once attempted to escape but was caught and placed in a cage handcuffed, said his father Yaron.
鈥淚t was a wire enclosure 1.8 meters high, as long as a mattress plus a little more. You could call it a cage,鈥 he told Israel鈥檚 public radio.
Also speaking to the national broadcaster, the father of former hostage Yosef Haim Ohana said his son 鈥渟pent several days in an underground pit with six other captives, without enough room to sit or lie down and with barely enough air to survive.鈥
鈥(Their captors) put seven men in one pit,鈥 said Avi Ohana. 鈥淭hey couldn鈥檛 sit, only lean against the wall while standing. There was no oxygen.鈥
Hamas and other Palestinian Islamist groups abducted 251 hostages from Israel on October 7, 2023 and took them to the Gaza Strip, both living and dead.
More than 200 of them were returned to Israel during two ceasefires in late 2023 and early 2025, or were rescued in Israeli army operations.
At the start of October, there were still 48 living and dead hostages in Gaza, including the remains of an Israeli soldier killed in 2014.
Under the terms of a US-brokered ceasefire that entered into force on October 10, Hamas and its allies released the 20 last living hostages.
In the days since, it has so far returned 12 bodies out of the 28 it was still holding.
Israel said it had released 1,968 Palestinian prisoners and detainees in exchange for the last living hostages, and has also handed over 150 bodies of Palestinians in return for the remains of 10 deceased Israeli hostages.
Remains of two other hostages returned were that of a Nepalese student and a Thai farmworker.
 

 


Israel army says two soldiers killed in southern Gaza on Sunday

Israel army says two soldiers killed in southern Gaza on Sunday
Updated 19 October 2025

Israel army says two soldiers killed in southern Gaza on Sunday

Israel army says two soldiers killed in southern Gaza on Sunday
  • First Israeli fatalities since the ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10
  • Israeli military said Sunday it had resumed enforcing a ceasefire in Gaza

JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said two soldiers were killed in combat in southern Gaza on Sunday, as it carried out a series of strikes in the area, accusing Hamas of violating the ceasefire.
Major Yaniv Kula, 26, and Staff Sergeant Itay Yavetz, 21, 鈥渇ell during combat in the southern Gaza Strip,鈥 the military said, the first Israeli fatalities since the ceasefire took effect on October 10.
The Israeli military said Sunday it had resumed enforcing a ceasefire in Gaza.
鈥淚n accordance with the directive of the political echelon, and following a series of significant strikes in response to Hamas鈥 violations, the IDF has begun the renewed enforcement of the ceasefire,鈥 the military said in a statement.
鈥淭he IDF will continue to uphold the ceasefire agreement and will respond firmly to any violation of it.鈥


Gaza civil defense says at least 45 killed in Israeli strikes Sunday

Gaza civil defense says at least 45 killed in Israeli strikes Sunday
Updated 19 October 2025

Gaza civil defense says at least 45 killed in Israeli strikes Sunday

Gaza civil defense says at least 45 killed in Israeli strikes Sunday
  • Fatalities were confirmed by Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital and Al-Awda hospital
  • Israel and Hamas traded blame for violating a ceasefire

GAZA CITY: Gaza鈥檚 civil defense agency and hospitals said a series of Israeli air strikes across the territory killed at least 45 people on Sunday, updating an earlier toll of 33.
The Israeli military said it had struck dozens of Hamas targets across the Gaza Strip, as both Israel and Hamas accused each other of violating the nine-day-old ceasefire brokered by US President Donald Trump.
鈥淎t least 45 people were killed as a result of Israeli air strikes on various areas of the Gaza Strip,鈥 Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for the civil defense agency, which operates as a rescue service under Hamas authority, told AFP.
Four hospitals in Gaza confirmed the death toll to AFP, saying they had received the dead and wounded.
Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat reported 24 dead and 73 wounded from multiple strikes in central Gaza.
Al-Aqsa Hospital said it received 12 dead from nearby bombings, while Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis reported five dead, and Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City confirmed four fatalities.
Earlier, Bassal detailed several of the strikes.
He said six people were killed when an Israeli strike targeted a 鈥済roup of civilians鈥 in Zuwaida town in central Gaza.
Six other people, including children, were killed and 13 others injured in two separate strikes near Nuseirat in central Gaza, Bassal said.
A woman and two children were killed when a drone strike hit a tent housing displaced people near Asdaa City, north of Khan Yunis.
Two people, including a journalist, were killed and several others injured in an Israeli strike in the western part of Zuwaida town in central Gaza.
In another attack, two people were killed and several injured when an Israeli strike hit a tent in the Al-Ahli Club area in Nuseirat, central Gaza, Bassal said.
Two more people were killed in an Israeli air strike in eastern Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip, he added.
One individual was killed in a strike on an apartment in a building in western Gaza City, the civil defense agency said.
The others succumbed later on Sunday to injuries received in these strikes, Bassal said.
The Israeli military told AFP it was checking reports of casualties.
Later on Sunday, the Israeli military said it has resumed enforcing the ceasefire in Gaza.


Israeli forces blow up Palestinian apartment in Tubas

Israeli forces blow up Palestinian apartment in Tubas
Updated 19 October 2025

Israeli forces blow up Palestinian apartment in Tubas

Israeli forces blow up Palestinian apartment in Tubas
  • Parts of the main square in Tubas bulldozed, private properties damaged and several homes converted into Israeli military posts

LONDON: Israeli forces demolished a residential apartment in the northern occupied West Bank city of Tubas as troops on Sunday launched a large-scale raid for a second consecutive day.

Forces stormed an apartment building, forcibly removed its residents, and planted explosives before detonating them, resulting in an explosion that was heard across the city, according to the Wafa news agency.

Israeli forces bulldozed parts of the main square in Tubas, damaged private properties, and converted several homes into military posts after forcing residents to evacuate. Forces also blocked the southern entrance to Tubas with dirt mounds, detaining several Palestinians for field interrogations, Wafa added.

Tubas and the northern Jordan Valley have faced frequent Israeli military incursions recently, leading to home demolitions, raids, and detentions. Israel has maintained a military occupation of the West Bank since June 1967, which is considered illegal under international law.

Additionally, Israel has pursued a policy of expanding settlements in the territory, which observers view as a significant obstacle to resolving the conflict and establishing a Palestinian state.