Seoul Gazette - Rubio to discuss Gaza truce with Israel PM on first leg of Mideast tour

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 the Gaza Strip 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 between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas.

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

Rubio landed at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv 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 next week in Doha.

Washington has said it is open to alternative proposals from Arab governments but insists that, for now, "the only plan is Trump's".

Rubio is also due to visit Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, with tough talks expected on Monday in Riyadh, a key player in Trump's regional strategy.

"Israel will now have to decide what they will do," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "The United States will back the decision they make!"

- Brink of collapse -

Hamas and Israel are implementing the first, 42-day phase of the ceasefire that nearly collapsed last week.

Israel had warned Hamas it must free three living hostages by the weekend or face a renewed offensive, after the Islamist group said it would pause releases over what it described as Israeli truce violations.

Netanyahu credited "President Trump's firm stance" with ensuring Saturday's releases went ahead.

The freed hostages -- Israeli-American Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36, Israeli-Russian Sasha Trupanov, 29, and Israeli-Argentine Yair Horn, 46 -- returned to emotional reunions with their families.

Flanked by Hamas fighters, they carried gift bags from their captors and urged further exchanges.

In a video released by the Israeli government, Dekel-Chen's wife, Avital, told him the name of their daughter who had been born two months after his abduction in October 2023.

"That's perfect," the 36-year-old replied.

Israel freed 369 Palestinian prisoners, mostly Gazans detained during the war, but some were serving life sentences for attacks on Israelis.

Footage aired by Israeli media showed Palestinian prisoners in sweatshirts bearing a Star of David and the slogan: "We will not forget and we will not forgive".

They tore them off upon reaching Gaza and burned them in a bonfire at the reception point in Khan Yunis.

Ibrahim, 61, a freed prisoner who declined to give his full name, said he was shocked by Gaza's devastation.

Arrested in northern Gaza's Jabalia refugee camp, he said he still did not know why he had been jailed for nine months.

Since the truce began last month, 19 Israeli hostages have been released in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.

Out of 251 people seized in Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the war, 70 remain in Gaza, including 35 the Israeli military says are dead.

- Second phase alternatives -

The second phase of the ceasefire, still to be negotiated, is expected to include the release of the remaining hostages and discussions on ending the war.

Trump's Gaza plan has heightened tensions.

The US president has warned of repercussions for neighbouring Egypt and Jordan unless they accept displaced Gazans.

Diplomats say Egypt is leading efforts to propose an alternative within weeks, focused on training a new security force and appointing local Palestinian leaders.

Rubio said he believed Arab states were "working in good faith," but insisted Hamas must have no future role.

The October 7, 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,211 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 48,264 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers reliable.

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P.Hwang--SG