(MENAFN) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Jerusalem on Monday, just days after an Israeli airstrike in Doha, Qatar, that targeted senior Hamas officials who had been meeting to deliberate on a new US truce initiative for Gaza.

According to the Israeli leader’s office, a post on the US-based social platform X stated that Netanyahu is presently meeting Rubio in his Jerusalem office.

Rubio, who landed in Israel on Sunday, joined Netanyahu for a brief visit to the Western Wall (Al-Buraq Wall) in occupied East Jerusalem. Later in the day, he is expected to hold discussions with Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

The State Department indicated that Rubio’s trip to Israel will focus on continuing joint efforts to halt the conflict in Gaza and to secure the liberation of all captives.

Last week’s Israeli strike in Doha, which killed five Hamas members along with a Qatari security officer, triggered criticism both regionally and internationally. US President Donald Trump remarked that he was “very unhappy” about Israel’s strike on Qatar.

The raid coincided with Hamas’ review of a US initiative aimed at halting the Israeli offensive on Gaza, where nearly 65,000 individuals have lost their lives since October 2023.

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