Challenges remain amid Gaza truce deal

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's remarks on Sunday that Hamas "must be eradicated" are putting the future of the fragile Gaza truce deal in further doubt as the first phase of discussions on the Gaza cease-fire deal is set to end in two weeks, while the second phase of talks has yet to be negotiated.

Rubio made the remarks when he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in West Jerusalem on Sunday, at the start of his Middle East tour.

He said US President Donald Trump "has been very clear that Hamas cannot continue as a government (governing body) or military force", arguing that as long as the group remains in power, "peace becomes impossible".

"The gates of hell will be opened "if all the hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza are not freed, Netanyahu said, adding that he and Trump had "a common strategy", noting "we can't always share the details of this strategy with the public".

Netanyahu said Israel and the US were working "in full cooperation and coordination" on issues concerning the Gaza Strip. He thanked the United Nations for its "unequivocal" support for Israel's policies in Gaza.

Rubio arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday, and he will also travel to the United Arab Emirates.

During his tour, Rubio is likely to face great pushback from Arab leaders over Trump's proposal to displace Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, a plan that human rights organizations have called "ethnic cleansing", according to AI Jazeera.

Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy to the Middle East, said on Sunday the second phase of talks on a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas would continue this week "at a location to be determined".

'Productive, constructive'

Witkoff told Fox News he had "very productive and constructive "calls on Sunday with Netanyahu, Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Egypt's director of intelligence, where the leaders discussed "the timing of phase two, the positions of the parties, so we can understand where we stand, and we will continue the talks later this week".

The second stage of the hostage deal is "absolutely going to begin", Witkoff said.

Meanwhile, in Israel, the government on Sunday approved Eyal Zamir as the country's new chief of staff of Israel Defense Forces, following the resignation of Herzi Halevi in January over his failure to prevent the Hamas attack in October 2023.

Zamir, 59, has served as director-general of the Defense Ministry for the past two years and will officially assume his new role in early March.

In Gaza, the Hamas-run media office accused Israel of violating the cease-fire agreement on Sunday. "The occupation continues to breach the cease-fire agreement, as it blocked the departure of the 15th group of patients and the wounded today by delaying the release of their travel lists, preventing them from completing the exit procedures," the media office head Salama Marouf said in a statement.

On Thursday, the media office reported that only 452 injured and sick individuals, along with 620 others, left Gaza in 12 days of operation at the Rafah crossing, which was reopened under the cease-fire agreement.

"There are still 15,000 injured and sick people in Gaza who urgently need to travel for treatment outside Gaza Strip amid a severe shortage of medical supplies due to the ongoing blockade and Israeli aggression since Oct 7,2023," the statement said.

Also on Sunday, the Gaza-based health authorities warned of a severe oxygen shortage in the enclave after Israel destroyed 10 oxygen stations during the conflict.

Agencies and Xinhua contributed to this story.