Rubio in Israel to shower support as Palestinians flee Gaza City

JERUSALEM: Top US diplomat Marco Rubio began a visit to Israel on Sunday, after expressing the Trump administration’s unwavering support for its ally in the war with Hamas despite a strike in Qatar that drew broad criticism of Israel.

The visit comes as Palestinian families streamed out of Gaza City on Sunday, some crammed into pick-up trucks, others on foot, as Israeli forces pressed their assault on the territory’s main urban centre.

Parents carried their children while the elderly hobbled along, an AFP journalist reported.

The trip is taking place after President Donald Trump rebuked Israel over the unprecedented attack against Hamas leaders meeting in Doha on Tuesday.

It marked Israel’s first such strike against US ally Qatar and has put renewed strain on diplomatic efforts to bring about a truce in Gaza.

Read more: Rubio to offer Israel US support just days after Doha attack

NO CHANGE IN RELATIONSHIP

Before departing for the region on Saturday, Rubio told reporters that while Trump was “not happy” about the strike, it was “not going to change the nature of our relationship with the Israelis”.

He, however, added that the United States and Israel were “going to have to talk about” its impact on truce efforts.

On Friday, Trump met with Qatar’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, while Rubio’s visit comes as Arab and Muslim leaders are set to meet Monday in Doha to express solidarity with the Gulf state in the aftermath of the Israeli strike.

Netanyahu has defended the bombing, saying on Saturday that killing senior Hamas officials would remove the “main obstacle” to ending the war.

In Jerusalem, Rubio will visit the Western Wall with Netanyahu on Sunday, according to the Israeli prime minister’s office.

His main meetings with officials, including Netanyahu, will take place on Monday before he departs on Tuesday.

Read more: Netanyahu says ‘there will be no Palestinian state’

NONSTOP BOMBARDMENT

The Israeli military has issued multiple evacuation warnings for Gaza City, but many residents have told AFP they have nowhere else to go, noting that Israel has repeatedly struck the area in the south where it has urged people to move.

On Sunday, the Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesman, Avichay Adraee, issued a warning to those in Gaza’s port area and Al-Rimal neighbourhood to evacuate immediately to a “humanitarian zone” in the south, where Gazans say there is no more space to pitch tents.

Read more: UNGA supports future Palestinian state but without Hamas

He had on Saturday said more than 250,000 Gaza City residents had already fled, while Gaza’s civil defence agency said the figure was closer to 68,000.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.

Prior to the latest assault, the United Nations had estimated that around a million people lived in and around the city, where it officially declared famine last month.

Thousands of Palestinians have fled Gaza City since Israel has intensified operations. AFP footage showed exhausted families moving along the coastal road near Nuseirat south of Gaza City, with their belongings stacked high in vehicles.

In the city itself, “the bombardment hasn’t stopped since dawn,” said Umm Alaa Shaaban, 45, a resident of Tal al-Hawa district in Gaza City’s southwest.

“We haven’t slept all night… The sounds of shelling and explosions have not stopped until now,” she told AFP.

According to Shaaban, the Israeli air force “bombed many houses… we were terribly afraid — my children screamed in terror.

“We don’t know where to go. The bombardment is everywhere.”

PANIC AND EXTREME FEAR

Mohammed Ghazal, 32, who fled from Gaza City’s Shujaiya neighbourhood, also said the strikes were relentless.

“We are living in a state of panic and extreme fear. The shelling hasn’t stopped since dawn, the explosions are intense and the shooting continuous,” he told AFP.

“Israeli forces are using terrifying methods and escalating the bombardment to frighten us and force us to flee south.”

In recent days, the Israeli military has targeted several high-rise buildings in Gaza City, saying they were being used by Hamas militants.

On Sunday, it said it had struck another high-rise where Hamas had set up “observation posts to monitor the location of… troops in the area”.

AFP also saw an Israeli leaflet dropped on residents, telling them they were in a “dangerous combat zone” — a message the military has repeated for weeks.

Across the the Gaza Strip, Israeli strikes killed 23 people since dawn Sunday, according to the Gaza civil defence agency.