US Secretary of State Marco Rubio tells reporters in Antalya that he is “troubled” by the humanitarian situation in Gaza, amid a nearly two and a half month long Israeli aid blockade, adding that he discussed the matter with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a phone call earlier today.
Rubio insists the US is not immune to the suffering of the people in Gaza, where no humanitarian aid has reached since March 1.
The top US diplomat’s comments didn’t go as far as to expressly criticize Israel, but they seemed to be moving in that direction after Trump officials had long exclusively blamed Hamas for the humanitarian crisis.
Rubio says he is also familiar with the criticism voiced against a new Israeli and US-backed foundation, whose initiative for resuming the distribution of aid in Gaza has been blasted by aid organizations as being wildly insufficient.
He notes that the US is open to other plans in what would appear to mark a blow to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which just yesterday made its inaugural announcement, declaring that it planned to begin operations in the Strip by the end of the month.
It also said Israel had agreed to allow aid into Gaza through existing mechanisms in the interim — something that Jerusalem has yet to confirm.
Notably, though, the subsequently released State Department readout on Rubio’s call with Netanyahu makes no mention of Gaza at all.
Instead, it regurgitates talking points about the US commitment to Israel’s security and adds that the pair also discussed US President Donald Trump’s recent meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, which came shortly after the former said he would remove Washington’s sanctions on Damascus.
source: timesofisrael.com/rubio-says-he-spoke-to-netanyahu-about-troubling-gaza-humanitarian-situation/
