Rubio says Hamas 'must be eradicated'

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has fully supported Israel's war aims in the Gaza Strip, saying Hamas "must be eradicated".

Rubio met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in West Jerusalem on Sunday at the start of a regional tour.

He is likely to face backlash from Arab leaders over US President Donald Trump's proposal to relocate the Palestinian population from the Gaza Strip and redevelop it under US ownership, a plan that human rights organisations have called ethnic cleansing.

Netanyahu welcomed the plan, also referring to it as "bold" and said he and Trump have a "shared strategy" for the future of Gaza.

Echoing Trump's statements, he said that "the gates of hell would be open" if Hamas did not release dozens of remaining captives kidnapped in its October 7, 2023, attack that preceded the war.

The leaders' statements came just two weeks before the end of the first phase of a ceasefire in Israel's war in Gaza, which has killed more than 61,700 Palestinians.

The second phase – in which Hamas would release dozens of remaining captives in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces – has not yet been negotiated.

And Rubio said Hamas "cannot continue as a military or governmental force."

“As long as it remains as a force that can govern or as a force that can administer or as a force that can threaten to use violence, peace becomes impossible,” Rubio said. “It must be eradicated.” /Telegraph/