Secretary of State Marco Rubio met in Jerusalem on Monday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel for sensitive talks on the war in Gaza and growing international support for a Palestinian state.
While Mr. Netanyahu welcomed Mr. Rubio on Sunday as an “extraordinary friend” of Israel and celebrated the strength of the U.S.-Israel alliance, tensions between the Israeli leader and President Trump have been rising.
Mr. Trump is impatient for an end to the war in Gaza — he has promised for months to broker a cease-fire that would stop the fighting and free hostages still held by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
But Mr. Trump’s diplomacy has come up short, and Israel is now preparing a major military offensive in Gaza City which is likely to prolong the fighting for months.
There were growing signs that a ground invasion of Gaza City could begin soon after Mr. Rubio departs the country. On Sunday, the Israeli military intensified airstrikes on the city and attacked four more high-rise buildings that it said were being used by Hamas.
Mr. Trump has also publicly rebuked Mr. Netanyahu for launching an airstrike last week against Hamas leaders in Qatar, a U.S. ally in the Gulf and a mediator in talks to end the Gaza war. The U.S. president said the strike would make it harder to reach a peace deal.
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The post Rubio, in Israel, Meets Netanyahu as Trump Grows Impatient appeared first on New York Times.
