Rome, Italy - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held another telephone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday, his spokesperson said, after Israel's army launched an intensified assault on .
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (l.) has once again spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu © EVELYN HOCKSTEIN / POOL / AFP
The call, which was their second in just three days, comes after fresh Israeli strikes that killed more than two dozen people.
Rubio and Netanyahu "discussed the situation in Gaza and their joint efforts to secure the release of all remaining hostages," the secretary of state's spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement.
The new Israeli attacks come amid growing international outrage over in Gaza, where an Israeli blockade – which Human Rights Watch says has become a – continues to restrict aid.
Rubio earlier on Saturday repeated calls for a halt in fighting in Gaza, saying in excerpts of an interview to CBS: "We also support an end of the conflict, a ceasefire."
"We don't want people obviously suffering as they have, and we blame Hamas for that, but nonetheless, they're suffering," Rubio said.
"We are actively engaged in trying to figure out if there is a way to get more hostages out through some ceasefire type mechanism," Rubio added during the interview to be aired in full on Sunday.
President Donald Trump acknowledged one day earlier in Abu Dhabi that in the besieged Palestinian territory.
The health ministry in Gaza said 3,131 people have been killed since on March 18, taking the overall toll to 53,272 – though the true number is believed to be far higher.
Bruce said Rubio had spoken to Netanyahu – who is for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza – from Rome ahead of in the Vatican as pope.
