Marco Rubio lands in Israel ahead of frank discussions surrounding apparent failure of IDF strike in Doha

“We need to move forward and figure out what comes next, because at the end of the day, when all is said and done, there is still a group called Hamas, which is an evil group.

“We’re going to talk about what the future holds, and I’m going to get a much better understanding of what [the Israelis] plans are moving forward.”

President Trump, he said, “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. 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 has yet to officially comment on the results of the strike.

According to the IDF, “dozens” of terror operatives have been killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza over the past day.

In Jabalia and elsewhere on the outskirts of Gaza City, the Givati Infantry Brigade is said to have killed more than 10 operatives, while troops of the 401st Armoured Brigade led a strike that killed at least another 10 around Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood. In southern Gaza, reservists of the Etzioni Infantry Brigade killed several more operatives, according to the IDF.

Meanwhile, civilians across Gaza city have in recent days been instructed to head to the designated “humanitarian zone” in the Strip’s south.

The IDF on Sunday issued three different evacuation warnings to Palestinians living in the vicinity of a high-rise buildings in Gaza City, saying it would strike “the building soon due to the presence of Hamas terror infrastructure inside or nearby.”

Several high-rise residential buildings that the IDF claims are used by Hamas have recently been levelled.

Hamas itself said publicly on Friday that it still intends to return to the negotiating table, quieting criticism that the Israeli strike on Hamas leaders in Doha would destroy the peace process and hinder hostage negotiations.