Marco Rubio tells President Rivlin: "There has been no stronger supporter of the State of Israel in the White House than President Trump"

In his first visit to Israel since taking office, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Sunday for discussions focused on regional security and the ongoing hostage crisis.

During their first working meeting, both leaders addressed the media before heading into bilateral talks. Herzog emphasized the significance of Rubio's visit in the aftermath of the October 7 attacks, expressing gratitude for President Trump's support in securing the release of hostages.

"We are grateful to President Donald Trump for his friendship and solidarity with the people of Israel," Herzog said, highlighting the devastating impact of the October 7 attacks on Israeli communities along the border.

He continued: "Marco Rubio, we are honored to have you in our midst, in our country, you have no idea how much it means to us in these challenging days and times that our nation has gone through and endured since October 7. You know, on October 7, Israelis down there in the border from all facets of life, went through hell, were abducted, kidnapped, beaten, raped, burned and killed in cold blooded murders, and we've emerged out of that enormous challenge and pain and crisis to change the reality.

The entire nation of Israel went to fight, and we've overcome our enemies. We always seek peace, and we always wanted peace in our region. And I believe that your visit here, as well as your capability to change and influence our region are enormous and can bring great hope to our people and the people of the region at large. Most importantly, we are screaming, aching, praying, working tirelessly to bring each and every one of our hostages back home. This is our biggest hope as a nation and as individuals, and I want to thank you for this effort, and that you're carrying on this holy mission. Thank you very much.

In response, Secretary Rubio, who assumed his role less than four weeks ago, reaffirmed the US administration's dedication to securing the release of all hostages: "It's an honor to be back as the Secretary of State not even four weeks into the job. I wanted this one to be one of our first visits because of the issues before us, and also because of the friendship and solidarity between our two countries.

On the issue that you mentioned about the hostages: just know, on behalf of the President, I can tell you he's strongly and deeply committed to the goal of every single hostage returning home, every single one, and not resting, not being silent, not forgetting, till all of them our home. We work in very close coordination with the government here, as you know, to make that a reality, and that remains a very strong priority.

And beyond that are the other challenges that we all discuss and are well aware of – then the opportunities as well, with what's happened in Lebanon most recently, and the hope of finding a situation that provides not just enduring security, but allows what are still sixty or seventy thousand of your countrymen who have not been able to return to their homes in the north and how critical it is for that security as well for that to happen.

At the core of all these challenges, whether it's Hezbollah or Hamas o terrorist groups that strike - when Assad was in Syria, what we see even confronting America and Iraq, the Houthis - there is one thing behind all of it. Iran. By Iran, I mean the regime. I think it's always important to remind people that the people of Iran, which is an ancient, proud culture, is controlled by radical clerics who have driven that nation in the wrong direction, and have isolated it from the world, but more importantly, have created the single greatest source of destabilization and sponsor of terrorism and violence on the planet.

And that we cannot forget that were it not for the regime in Tehran, many of these issues that we are confronting now would not be the same, and we cannot lose sight of that reality. It remains a fundamental challenge that we have before us, but just know that there has been no stronger supporter of the State of Israel in the White House than President Trump, who I’m honored to serve as his Secretary of State. And we wanted to come here to reaffirm those bonds and to ensure that you knew that we're going to be here to continue to work hand in hand until all these goals we share in common are achieved.”

The meeting underscores the continued strong alliance between the United States and Israel, with both leaders committing to work together on shared security goals and regional stability.