U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers on Tuesday that the Trump administration was “encouraging but not threatening” Israel to resume humanitarian aid shipments into Gaza.
Speaking before the Senate Appropriations Committee, Rubio said that while the United States has not followed European countries in issuing sanctions or public warnings over aid shortfalls, the administration has conveyed its expectations.
“We’re not prepared to respond the way these countries have,” he said, but the United States has engaged with Israel in the last few days about “the need to resume humanitarian aid.” He added, “We anticipate that those flows will increase over the next few days and weeks—it’s important that that be achieved.”
Rubio also said that the United States has approached foreign governments about the possibility of voluntarily accepting large numbers of Palestinian civilians from Gaza, amid ongoing Israeli operations against Hamas. “There’s no deportation,” he clarified. “We’ve asked countries preliminarily whether they will be open to accepting people not as a permanent solution, but as a bridge to reconstruction.”
Democratic lawmakers criticized the concept, with Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) describing it as a “strategy of forced migration.”
Rubio also addressed regional issues including Iran, stating that the Trump administration sees promise in the resumption of nuclear talks and is pursuing efforts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza. He underscored that such diplomatic channels are part of a broader strategy to restore stability in the Middle East.
The hearing marked Rubio’s first appearance before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee since assuming office as secretary of state.