Secretary of State Marcon Rubio warned that Israel's efforts to annex the already occupied West Bank could jeopardize the fragile truce with Hamas.

Rubio spoke with reporters on the tarmac prior to a trip to Israel and addressed efforts to maintain phase one of the peace deal brokered by President Donald Trump earlier this month, as a bill in the Knesset, Israel's unicameral legislature, sought to apply law to the West Bank.

“That’s a vote in the Knesset, but obviously I think the president’s made clear that’s not something we’d be supportive of right now,” he said via NBC News.

Trump had already publicly claimed he would not allow the move, which is believed to by many to be an attempt to annex the land that Palestinians view as part of a future state. The proposal is reported to be the first of four needed to pass the law and not supported by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party, according to Reuters.

“They’re a democracy, they’re going to have their votes. People are gonna take these positions,” Rubio said via NBC News. But “at this time,” he added, “we think it might be counterproductive.”

Rubio is the latest top official within the Trump administration to visit Israel since the peace deal earlier this month, with previous visits made by the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner, Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Vice President JD Vance, who claimed officials weren't attempting to babysit the ceasefire in Gaza, stressing that Israel was a partner and not a "vassal state," as questions grew around how the peace deal would be carried out.

“I never said it was easy, but what I am is optimistic that the ceasefire is going to hold and that we can actually build a better future in the entire Middle East,” Vance said via NBC News.

Hamas reasserted itself into authority in Gaza despite its recent ceasefire deal with Israel, NBC News reported. The militant group reportedly deployed armed police on the streets after Israeli forces had withdrawn in adherence with the peace deal after reports that it clashed with rival clans, fired upon and killed Israeli troops during multiple incidents and carried out at least one public execution of suspected collaborators since the ceasefire deal was announced earlier this month.

The Israeli military conduced strikes against Hamas in Gaza on Sunday (October 19) amid claims that the militant group violated its ceasefire agreement by carrying out "multiple attacks" since Friday (October 17). An Israeli military official initially confirmed the strikes in a statement to FOX News, citing prior alleged attacks by Hamas, before the IDF issued a statement confirming that it was taking actions in Gaza later in the day.

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