Rubio speaks to Israel's Netanyahu, says US troubled by Gaza humanitarian situation

By Humeyra Pamuk

ANTALYA, Turkey (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said after he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday that Washington is troubled by the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Rubio, speaking to reporters in Antalya, Turkey, said the U.S. was "not immune or in any way insensitive to the suffering of people in Gaza," where no humanitarian assistance has been delivered since March 2.

He repeated the Trump administration's stance that Hamas militants, who launched the October 2023 attacks that began the conflict, are to blame for the situation in Gaza.

"We think that the elimination of Hamas is what achieves peace. We're troubled by the humanitarian situation," Rubio said.

It was the first time Rubio has addressed the situation in Gaza since the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation announced it will start work in Gaza by the end of May under a heavily-criticized distribution plan.

He said he had heard criticism of the plan and that the U.S. was open to an alternative plan.

"It allows people to get aid without Hamas stealing it," Rubio said. "We'll continue to work towards that in ways that we think are constructive and productive."

(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; writing by Simon Lewis; editing by Deepa Babington)

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