Rubio lands in Israel for expected discussions on Gaza, Doha strike targeting Hamas leaders

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives in Israel for an official visit, less than a week after the Israel Defense Forces attacked Hamas leaders inside the US ally Qatar’s capital city Doha.

He is greeted on the tarmac by officials including US Ambassador Mike Huckabee.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and wife Jeanette Dousdebes Rubio have arrived at Ben Gurion Airport in #Israel.

Rubio on this visit, his second since taking office in January, plans to reaffirm US commitment to Israel’s security and bringing Hamas-held hostages home from Gaza pic.twitter.com/24gw3j5oVd

— Eric Martin (@EMPosts) September 14, 2025

According to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, he and Rubio will visit the Western Wall together in Jerusalem today.

On the tarmac in Washington ahead of his flight, Rubio told reporters that the US was “not happy” about the Israeli strike targeting Hamas leaders in Qatar, but the attack will not change Washington’s allied status with Israel.

“It’s not going to change the nature of our relationship with the Israelis, but we are going to have to talk about it — primarily, what impact does this have” on the truce efforts, Rubio added.

Rubio added that he will be seeking answers from Israeli officials about how they see the way forward in Gaza.

US President Donald Trump “wants Hamas defeated, he wants the war to end, he wants all 48 hostages home, including those that are deceased, and he wants it all at once,” Rubio continued. “And we’ll have to discuss about how the events last week had an impact on the ability to achieve that in short order.”

Israel targeted leaders from the Hamas terror group gathering in Qatar apparently to discuss a new ceasefire proposal put forward by Trump’s administration. Yesterday, Netanyahu appeared to acknowledge that the missile strike had failed to kill the targeted leaders.