"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.

Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is set to meet with Israeli and Qatari officials as the Trump administration works to secure a deal to end the war in Gaza.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio "succeeded [in creating] an environment where people wake up and don’t want to come in to work," a still-serving State Department official told HuffPost.

In May, Trump secured the release of Edan Alexander, the last US Israeli citizen held hostage after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, surprise attack on southern Israel, which killed about 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and started the latest war. Alexander, who grew up in Tenafly, NJ, had been serving in the Israeli military when he was captured.

Over a series of escalations across the Middle East, Netanyahu appears to be gambling with the Trump Administration’s patience.

President Donald Trump was caught by surprise last week by Israeli actions in Gaza and Syria, and in both instances phoned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “rectify” the matter, according to the White House.

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi denies plots to assassinate President Donald Trump and claims Iran has no policy to wipe Israel 'off the map,' despite contradictory statements.