JERUSALEM (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he will be seeking answers from Israeli officials about how they see the way forward in Gaza following Israel’s attack on Hamas operatives in Qatar that has upended efforts to broker an end to the conflict.
Rubio told reporters on Saturday before leaving for Israel that President Donald Trump remained unhappy with the Israeli strike but that it would not shake U.S. support for Israel.
“We’re going to talk about what the future holds, and I’m going to get a much better understanding of what their plans are moving forward," Rubio said. “Obviously we’re not happy about it. The president was not happy about it. Now we need to move forward and figure out what comes next.”
Both Rubio and Trump met on Friday with Qatar’s prime minister to discuss the fallout from the Israeli operation, in a demonstration of how the Trump administration is trying to balance relations between key Middle East allies days after Israel targeted Hamas leaders in a strike on Doha.
The attack has drawn widespread international condemnation and appears to have ended attempts to secure an Israel-Hamas ceasefire and the release of hostages ahead of the upcoming U.N. General Assembly session at which the Gaza war is expected to be a primary focus.
Trump "wants Hamas defeated, he wants the war to end, he wants all 48 hostages home, including those that are deceased, and he wants it all at once,” he said. “And we’ll have to discuss about how the events last week had an impact on the ability to achieve that in short order.”
Rubio will have meetings in Jerusalem on Sunday and Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others.
Despite tensions between Trump and Netanyahu over the strike, Rubio will be in Israel for the two-day visit. It is a show of support for the increasingly isolated country before the United Nations holds likely contentious debate on the creation of a Palestinian state, which Netanyahu opposes.
On Friday, Rubio and Vice President JD Vance met Qatari Prime Ministers Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani at the White House. Later Friday, Trump and special envoy Steve Witkoff had dinner with the sheikh in New York, where Trump went to commemorate the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
The Trump administration is walking a delicate line between two major allies after Israel took its fight with Hamas to the Qatari capital, where leaders of the militant group had gathered to consider a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire in the nearly two-year-old war in Gaza. Qatar is a key mediator, and while its leaders have vowed to press forward, the next steps are uncertain for a long-sought deal to halt the fighting and release hostages taken from Israel.
Israel’s attack Tuesday also has ruptured Trump’s hopes to secure a wider Middle East peace deal, with the rulers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar all uniting in anger.
Trump himself has distanced himself from the strike, saying it “does not advance Israel or America’s goals” and has promised Qatar that it would not be repeated. The U.S. also joined a U.N. Security Council statement condemning the strike without mentioning Israel by name.
While in Israel, Rubio plans to visit the City of David, a popular archaeological site and tourist destination built by Israel in the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan in contested east Jerusalem.
It contains some of the oldest remains of the 3,000-year-old city. But critics accuse the site’s operators of pushing a nationalistic agenda at the expense of Palestinian residents.
Israel captured east Jerusalem, home to the city’s most important religious sites, in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed the area.
Israel claims the entire city as its eternal, undivided capital while the Palestinians claim east Jerusalem as the capital of a future state, including the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The competing claims lie at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and frequently boil over into violence.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks with members of the media before departing for Israel at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. (Nathan Howard/Pool Photo via AP)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives in a vehicle before departing for Israel at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. (Nathan Howard/Pool Photo via AP)
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo couldn’t remember hearing boos from his home crowd during his brilliant 13-year career in Milwaukee.
It happened Tuesday midway through the Bucks’ 139-106 loss to a Minnesota Timberwolves team that was playing without Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert.
“I’ve never been a part of something like that before,” Antetokounmpo said after the game. “Something new for me.”
The two-time MVP responded the same way he has whenever he’s been booed on the road. After making a driving layup and drawing a foul in the opening minute of the third quarter, Antetokounmpo offered a thumbs-down gesture and booed back.
“When I get booed, I boo back,” Antetokounmpo said. “I’ve been doing it all season.”
Those boos poured down after Milwaukee trailed 76-45 at the break. Never before in franchise history had the Timberwolves built such a big halftime lead in a road game.
Antetokounmpo acknowledged the Bucks’ effort was low Tuesday. He also expanded on why the boos bothered him.
“I don’t think it’s fair,” Antetokounmpo said. “But everybody has their opinion to do what they want to do. I’m not going to tell them what to do and how they should act when we don’t play hard or win, or we lose games or we’re not where we’re supposed to be. And I don’t think anybody has the right to tell me how I should act on the basketball court after I’ve been here 13 years and I’m basically the all-time leader in everything.”
The Bucks’ latest loss came as they approach the midway point of a season that hasn’t met their expectations.
Milwaukee (17-23) is 11th in the Eastern Conference standings, meaning the Bucks would have to rally in the second half just to reach the play-in round of the postseason. That’s a precipitous fall for a team that has made nine straight playoff appearances and won the NBA title in 2021.
The Bucks’ precarious position means they can’t afford to have performances like the one they delivered against a short-handed Minnesota team Tuesday. Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers blamed it on “dead legs” after the game, noting the Bucks had just returned from a four-game trip and are about to go back on the road for their next two contests.
“Dead legs cannot be an excuse,” Antetokounmpo said. “We have to be better.”
Antetokounmpo noted that the improvement must start with him, though he delivered 25 points, eight rebounds and five assists on Tuesday. He was asked how the Bucks could step up in the second half to put themselves back in playoff position.
“Playing hard,” Antetokounmpo said. “Playing the right way. Playing selfless basketball, which we don’t. I don’t know. I really don’t know. Those three things are important. I know that they’re important for you to win. Right now there’s so many things that we can do better. Let’s just start by, ’Can we just play harder? Can we just play the right way? Can we create advantages for the next player? Can we just play for our teammate, play for the team, play for ourselves?' Let’s start with that, and I think everything will follow.”
Antetokounmpo has offered similar messages after other losses this season, but the Bucks still haven’t put it all together. They haven’t won more than two straight games at any point this season.
“Maybe we are not connected as much as we should,” Antetokounmpo said. “Maybe my voice is just a broken record and guys are just tired and guys might tend to do what they want to do. I don’t know. But as a leader, it doesn’t matter. Being a leader is the same thing as being a dad. You have to keep on being available, being consistent with your words and your actions over and over and over again. One day you hope the message is going to go through.”
In the meantime, Antetokounmpo says he will keep responding to boos the same way, no matter who’s doing the jeering.
“I thrive through adversity,” Antetokounmpo said. “I thrive when people don’t believe in me. Doesn’t matter if I’m on the road, if I’m at home, if I’m at my family dinner, if I’m at a practice facility against my teammate.”
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo shoots between Minnesota Timberwolves' Julius Randle and Naz Reid during the second half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo reacts aftetr being fouled during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Minnesota Timberwolves Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
