Top US Diplomat Discusses Gaza Truce With Israeli PM

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Israel's prime minister in Jerusalem on Sunday for talks on the Gaza ceasefire, launching a Middle East tour a day after the latest hostage-prisoner exchange.

- Agencies

JERUSALEM:

On his first visit to the region as Washington's top diplomat, Rubio is expected to push US President Donald Trump's widely condemned proposal to take control of Gaza and relocate its more than two million residents.

The plan envisions redeveloping the coastal territory into the "Riviera of the Middle East" after it was devastated by more than 15 months of war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the idea during his recent White House visit, but foreign leaders have largely rejected it.

Rubio arrived hours after Hamas freed three Israeli hostages in Gaza in exchange for 369 Palestinian prisoners—the sixth swap under the fragile ceasefire.

Negotiations on a second phase of the truce, aimed at securing a more lasting end to the war, are expected to begin this week in Doha.

The United States, Israel's top ally and weapons supplier, has said it is open to alternative proposals from Arab governments but insists that, for now, "the only plan is Trump's".