In stark testimony before the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Trump administration pressure led to Israel’s decision to break its nearly three-month block on humanitarian aid to Gaza this week.
“The intervention of the United States and others is the reason why they’ve started to allow aid,” although “not at the levels that are necessary,” Rubio told the House panel.
Rubio, who was called upon for information about the U.S. State Department’s budget requests, told the panel that the Trump administration is taking measures to get additional aid into the enclave.
The administration is fronting the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which it said would be operational soon and serve as the mechanism by which aid would be delivered to Gazan civilians in designated zones.
As a senator, Rubio had argued that aid would fall into the hands of Hamas.
America’s top diplomat added that Gaza’s “humanitarian situation, the direction that it was headed, was undermining Israel’s standing and national security.”
The comments echoed those of critics of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his handling of the blockade, with European leaders decrying Netanyahu over the last few days, threatening sanctions and other measures if aid did not immediately start flowing in.
The Israeli government has been using aid as a leverage point to force Hamas to release more hostages held in Gaza. Only Edan Alexander, an Israeli-American, has been released during the blockade.
Netanyahu said in a rare press conference earlier on Wednesday that American supporters of Israel, including U.S. senators, have voiced concerns about the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Rubio expressed “some level of optimism that we may have a breakthrough” in U.S.-brokered talks to end the Israel-Hamas war and free the hostages “pretty quickly.”
But the secretary of state said he has “felt that way now at least four separate times in the last couple of months, and for one reason or another, at the last minute, it didn’t happen.”
“I don’t want to be disappointed about it again,” he said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Rubio had a contentious hearing with the House Foreign Affairs Committee, where he testified about the Trump administration’s foreign policy.
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) questioned him about possible U.S. cooperation with Saudi Arabia on building a civilian nuclear program for Riyadh.
“First, I will tell you that there has been no conversation about entering into one. For example, during the recent trip,” Rubio said before, Sherman interrupted, demanding a “yes” or “no” answer.
“Well, I’m going to give you my answer—if you want my answer,” Rubio said, before Sherman announced he was reclaiming the time allotted to him.
“Reclaim your time, but it’s not a game show,” Rubio said. “I get to answer. These are complex questions.”
Sherman also demanded a “yes” or “no” answer on whether the Trump administration would guarantee that it would keep sanctions in place on Iran until the Islamic Republic ends its nuclear enrichment in a verifiable manner.
Rubio said that wasn’t a question to which he could answer “yes” or “no.”
“Well, can you give me a ‘yes’ or ‘no’? Should I go on to the next?” Sherman asked.
“We believe that Iran should not be allowed to enrich uranium,” Rubio said. “We believe that an acceptable deal with Iran is one in which they cannot enrich, because if they can enrich, they can weaponize.”
“You have nothing to worry about,” Rubio said. “The worry was the previous administration.”