Rubio says Gaza should not be permanently divided as Israel conducts ‘targeted strike’

JERUSALEM: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday (Oct 25) that he does not envision a permanent division of Gaza, even as Israeli forces carried out a “targeted strike” on an Islamic Jihad member in the enclave.

Rubio told reporters aboard his flight between Israel and Qatar that an international stabilisation force would eventually enforce security across Gaza under the ongoing US-brokered ceasefire.

“I think, ultimately, the point of the stabilisation force is to move that line until it covers all of Gaza, meaning all of Gaza will be demilitarised,” Rubio said. “The Israelis have made it abundantly clear they have no interest in occupying Gaza.”

Under the truce, Israeli forces have withdrawn to a so-called “Yellow Line”, leaving them in control of roughly half of Gaza, where the United States has focused reconstruction aid.

ISRAEL SAYS STRIKE TARGETED ISLAMIC JIHAD MEMBER

Israel’s military said it carried out a strike in central Gaza against a militant “planning to attack Israeli troops.” Local medics said four people were wounded when a drone hit a car, though there were no immediate reports of deaths.

Israeli tanks also shelled eastern Gaza City, witnesses said. The military did not immediately comment on those reports.

Hamas warned that excluding it from postwar security arrangements could “lead to chaos and a security vacuum”.

Meanwhile, Israeli media said authorities had allowed Egyptian officials into Gaza to help locate the bodies of 13 Israelis still held there from the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack.

As part of the ceasefire, Hamas has agreed to return all hostages it abducted, though remains of those 13 victims are still in the enclave.

Rubio is the latest senior US official to visit the region after Vice President JD Vance, and said US military chief General Dan Caine is expected in Israel next week.