US hosts talks on post-war Gaza as Israel calls Gaza City evacuation 'inevitable'
World
Neither man spoke as they posed for photos before their meeting
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli and U.S. officials met Wednesday in Washington to discuss post-war Gaza, even as Israel’s military called the evacuation of Gaza City “inevitable” ahead of a new offensive and no sign of a ceasefire was in sight.
The meeting took place amid mounting outrage over this week’s double Israeli strike on a southern Gaza hospital that killed journalists, emergency responders and others. The toll from the attack on Nasser Hospital rose to 22 after two more people died Wednesday, Gaza health officials said.
The Israeli military, which has said it will investigate, offered no immediate explanation for striking twice and no evidence for an assertion that six of the dead were militants.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar at the State Department, with both countries saying they discussed cooperation on Iran, ending the war in Gaza, the situations in Lebanon and Syria, and next month’s session of the U.N. General Assembly, at which the Israel-Hamas conflict is likely to be a hot topic.
The State Department said Rubio reaffirmed America’s “unwavering commitment to Israel’s security.”
“The secretary and Foreign Minister Saar agreed that continued close cooperation between their countries is vital to the security and prosperity of the region,” the department said in statement.
A similar statement from the Israeli Embassy in Washington said they had discussed “the different challenges and opportunities in the Middle East,” including the potential nuclear threat from Iran, the war in Gaza and the importance of “repelling anti-Israel initiatives in the international arena.”
Neither man spoke as they posed for photos before their meeting and neither responded to shouted questions from reporters about the killings of Palestinian journalists in Gaza.
U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff told Fox News on Tuesday that President Donald Trump would chair a separate meeting, which would feature “a very comprehensive plan” for post-war Gaza.
He did not offer details about that meeting, which did not appear on Trump’s public schedule for Wednesday. Witkoff also said the official U.S. position was that hostages — Hamas’ main source of leverage — should no longer be part of negotiations. He told Fox News the talks should focus on issues such as Gaza’s future and how to define Hamas in that context.
