"We need to do some serious rethinking," a visibly frustrated Secretary of State Marco Rubio told a group of hostage families on Friday after the latest round of Gaza talks broke down, two people who attended the meeting tell Axios.

T he announcement was an admission of failure. On July 26th the Israel Defence Forces ( IDF) said that it would parachute food into Gaza and implement daily “humanitarian pauses” in parts of the still depopulated areas of the devastated strip, allowing international aid organisations to bring in convoys.

President Donald Trump called on Hamas to surrender and release the remaining hostages, saying it would be the "fastest way" to end the suffering in Gaza.

U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, reports news agency Reuters. The meeting took place in a bid to salvage the Gaza truce talks and tackle a humanitarian crisis in the enclave,