U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio landed in Israel on Sunday morning, September 14, 2025, stepping onto the tarmac at Ben Gurion airport alongside his wife, Jeanette Dousdebes Rubio. Greeted by U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and his wife Janet, Rubio’s arrival signaled Washington’s continued engagement in the region’s most combustible conflict—the war in Gaza.
Rubio’s visit, announced by the U.S. State Department and reported by multiple outlets including AFP and ABC News, comes at a moment of heightened tension. Just days earlier, an unprecedented Israeli airstrike targeted Hamas leaders in Qatar, drawing sharp criticism from international partners and complicating already fragile ceasefire talks. Nevertheless, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quick to frame Rubio’s presence as proof of enduring U.S.-Israeli ties. "The alliance has never been stronger," Netanyahu declared, underscoring the symbolism of the day.
Rubio, for his part, laid out his priorities before even boarding his flight: "My focus will be on securing the return of hostages, finding ways to make sure humanitarian aid reaches civilians, and addressing the threat posed by Hamas," he stated on social media. He didn’t mince words about Hamas, adding, "Hamas cannot continue to exist if peace in the region is the goal." According to the State Department, Rubio’s mission was to "convey America’s priorities in the Israel-Hamas conflict and broader issues concerning Middle Eastern security, reaffirming U.S. commitment to Israeli security."
After his arrival, Rubio was scheduled for a one-on-one meeting with Netanyahu, followed by a visit to the Western Wall at 2 p.m. local time. The two men, accompanied by Ambassador Huckabee, paused for prayers at the sacred site—an act that Netanyahu said demonstrated the U.S.-Israel alliance was "as strong, as durable as the stones in the Western Wall that we just touched." For Netanyahu, whose government has faced mounting criticism both at home and abroad, the optics of solidarity with the United States were invaluable.
But beneath the surface, tensions were simmering. The Israeli strike in Qatar earlier in the week, aimed at Hamas officials reportedly convening to discuss a new U.S. ceasefire proposal, had stoked outrage across the Arab and Muslim world. Qatar, a key U.S. ally and mediator in Gaza truce talks, convened an emergency summit of Arab and Muslim leaders in Doha scheduled for Monday, September 15. At a preparatory meeting on Sunday, Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani called on the world to "stop using double standards and to punish Israel for all the crimes it has committed," denouncing what he termed Israel’s "war of extermination" in Gaza. "What is encouraging Israel to continue... is the silence, the inability of the international community to hold it accountable," he said.
Back in Washington, President Donald Trump publicly rebuked Israel for the Qatar strike. Rubio acknowledged to reporters that Trump was "not happy" about the incident, but insisted it would not "change the nature of our relationship with the Israelis." He conceded, however, that the United States and Israel would "have to talk about" the strike’s impact. According to a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, Brian Katulis, Rubio was unlikely to push Israel forcefully toward a ceasefire. "There is an alarming passivity in actually getting to a ceasefire in Gaza," Katulis observed, reflecting a sentiment shared by many in the international community.
Meanwhile, the situation on the ground in Gaza continued to deteriorate. Israel has intensified its campaign to seize control of Gaza City, the largest urban center in the embattled territory. Last week, Israeli authorities issued an order for residents to evacuate, warning that the military would operate "with great force" within the city. High-rise buildings, which Israel claims are used by Hamas, have been systematically destroyed. As of late August, the United Nations estimated that around one million people remained in Gaza City and its surrounding areas, where the UN has declared a famine blamed on Israeli aid restrictions.
Eyewitness accounts paint a harrowing picture. AFP images captured columns of vehicles and people on foot fleeing Gaza City through a landscape of shattered buildings. "We are living in constant terror amid relentless shelling and powerful explosions," said Sara Abu Ramadan, a 20-year-old resident of Gaza City. "Why such massive firepower in these rockets? What’s their goal? We are dying here, with nowhere to seek refuge... and the world just watches." According to Gaza’s civil defence agency, at least 38 people were killed in Israeli strikes around the territory on Sunday alone. Due to media restrictions and limited access, AFP noted it was unable to independently verify these figures or details provided by the Israeli military.
The human toll of the conflict is staggering. The war was sparked by Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to AFP’s tally of official figures. Israel’s retaliatory campaign in Gaza has since killed at least 64,871 people, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable. The devastation has prompted the UN General Assembly to vote, on Friday, September 12, to back a revival of the two-state solution, defying Israeli opposition and highlighting the growing international urgency for a political resolution.
Domestically, pressure is mounting on Netanyahu’s government to secure the release of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, representing families of those abducted, accused Netanyahu of being the "one obstacle" to freeing the hostages by sabotaging efforts to strike a deal. Of the 251 people taken hostage by Palestinian militants in October 2023, 47 remain in Gaza, including 25 the Israeli military says are dead. For many Israelis, the hostages’ plight is a searing reminder of the war’s unresolved human cost.
Despite the international outcry and deepening humanitarian crisis, Israel retains the backing of its most powerful ally and largest arms supplier: the United States. Netanyahu, reflecting on his meeting with Rubio, declared, "Under Rubio and President Donald Trump, the alliance has never been stronger." Yet, as the region braces for further escalation—amid emergency summits, diplomatic rebukes, and the grinding reality on the ground—the path to peace appears more elusive than ever.
For now, the world’s attention remains fixed on Gaza, where the stakes are as high as the suffering is profound. The coming days, shaped by diplomacy, military action, and the voices of those caught in the crossfire, will determine the next chapter in this long and painful conflict.
