U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio began his Middle East tour Sunday by meeting Israel's prime minister in Jerusalem to discuss the Gaza cease-fire, a day after the latest hostage-prisoner exchange.
On his first visit to the region as Washington's top diplomat, Rubio is expected to push U.S. President Donald Trump's widely condemned proposal to take control of Gaza and relocate its more than 2 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.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the idea during his recent White House visit, but foreign leaders have largely rejected it.
Rubio arrived hours after Hamas freed three Israeli hostages in Gaza in exchange for 369 Palestinian prisoners – the sixth swap under the fragile cease-fire.
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.
The United States, Israel's top ally and weapons supplier, 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 Monday in Riyadh, a key player in Trump's regional strategy.
Hamas and Israel are implementing the first, 42-day phase of the cease-fire that nearly collapsed last week.
Israel had warned Hamas it must free three living hostages by the weekend or face a renewed offensive.
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 family reunions.
Flanked by Hamas members, they carried gift bags from their captors and urged further exchanges.
Israel freed 369 Palestinian prisoners, mostly Gazans detained during the war, but also 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 Younis.
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 Oct. 7, 2023 incursion of Israel that sparked the war, 70 remain in Gaza, including 35 the Israeli military says are dead.
The second phase of the cease-fire, 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 U.S. president has warned of repercussions for neighboring Egypt and Jordan unless they accept displaced Gazans.
Diplomats say Egypt is leading efforts to propose an alternative 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 Oct. 7, 2023 incursion caused 1,211 deaths, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel's genocidal war, in comparison, killed at least 48,264 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to figures from the local Health Ministry.
