US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to the media after visiting the Civil-Military Coordination Center in southern Israel. AP
The U.S. could call for a U.N. resolution supporting the force so more nations can take part, Rubio said, adding that the U.S. has been talking with Qatar, Egypt and Turkey and noting interest from Indonesia and Azerbaijan.
“Many of the countries that want to be a part of it can’t do it without that,” Rubio told reporters en route from Israel to Qatar, where he met up with President Donald Trump for a multistop tour in Asia.
He also noted that next week, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, is expected to be the latest in a parade of U.S. officials to travel to Israel.
Vice President JD Vance joined special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner earlier in the week in Israel in an effort to shore up the fragile ceasefire deal. Rubio arrived just as Vance was departing, meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and touring a U.S.-led coordination centre monitoring the ceasefire.
US top diplomat further stated that Israel, the U.S. and the other mediators of the Gaza ceasefire deal are sharing information to disrupt any threats, claiming that this allowed them to identify a possible impending attack last weekend.
The State Department alleged a week ago that it had “credible reports” Hamas could violate the ceasefire with an attack on Palestinian civilians in Gaza, a claim that Hamas has strongly denied.
“We put out a message through the State Department, sent it to our mediators as well, about an impending attack, and it didn’t happen,” he “So that’s the goal here, is ultimately to identify a threat before it happens."
Despite the ceasefire, Israel launched roughly 100 airstrikes across the Gaza Strip last Sunday, killing 45 Palestinians and suspending all humanitarian aid deliveries to the besieged enclave.
The wave of airstrikes included attacks on Rafah in the south and Jabalia in the north, targeting what the Israeli military has alleged were militant positions.
According to the Gaza Government Media Office, Israel has committed at least 80 violations of the ceasefire since it began, killing at least 90 Palestinians and wounding scores more.
*This story was edited by Ahram Online.
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