Rubio: We’re pleased by Israeli decision to allow some aid into Gaza, but it’s insufficient

The US is “pleased” by Israel’s decision yesterday to lift its 78-day blockade on humanitarian assistance for Gaza but recognizes that the small handful of trucks that have entered the Strip are not sufficient, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says.

Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rubio says it is his understanding that another 100 aid trucks — if not more — will be entering Gaza in the coming days.

He says he recently met with representatives from the World Food Program to discuss efforts to ramp up the distribution of aid into Gaza.

A Western diplomat familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel earlier this month that the Trump administration has threatened to cut its funds to WFP if the organization doesn’t cooperate with a new Israeli-backed Gaza aid initiative.

WFP and other aid groups have pushed back on the initiative, arguing that it will force the mass displacement of Gazans to southern Gaza, where a handful of aid distribution centers will be established, and includes other strict Israeli criteria that international organizations claim don’t meet the gravity of the humanitarian crisis.

Rubio tells the Senate committee that the US wants the war in Gaza to end “hopefully with the elimination of Hamas.”

“Because the people of Gaza deserve a more prosperous, peaceful future, which they’ll never have as long as Hamas exists,” he says.

Asked about Israel’s current military strategy of flattening the vast majority of Gazan buildings in order to reoccupy and indefinitely hold onto the Strip, Rubio claims he doesn’t believe that is the case, adding that Israel is “targeting elements of Hamas.”

He adds that Hamas has been an “impediment” to multiple deals in the past, with the group’s Gaza-based leadership overruling its abroad negotiators after the latter had reached agreements with the mediators.

Rubio confirms that the US has asked countries in the region and beyond whether they’d be willing to temporarily take in Gazans who are interested in leaving due to the ongoing war. However, he denies that there is a “deportation” initiative in motion.

Rubio is pressed whether the plan can really be considered “voluntary” if Israel is cutting off aid to Gaza and razing almost all of its structures, while certain senior ministers pledge that Israel will remain there permanently.

“You don’t want people trapped there… They may want to live there in the future, but right now, they can’t… [so] we’ve asked countries preliminarily whether they would be open to accepting people — not as a permanent situation but as a bridge toward reconstruction,” Rubio says.

Asked whether one of the countries approached was Libya, which the US is reportedly hoping will take in one million Gazans, Rubio responds that he’s not aware of such discussions.

To date, no countries have come forward, as Israel has refused to publicly commit to allowing those who leave the ability to return and as coalition members claim the plan is for Israel to establish settlements in the Strip where Palestinian villages once stood.