US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will discuss the Gaza ceasefire with Israel's prime minister in Jerusalem on Sunday, launching a Middle East tour a day after the latest hostage-prisoner exchange.

On his first visit to the region as Washington's top diplomat, Rubio is expected to push US President Donald Trump's widely condemned proposal to take control of the Gaza Strip and relocate its more than two million residents.

The plan envisions redeveloping the coastal territory into the "Riviera of the Middle East" after it was devastated by more than 15 months of war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the idea during his recent White House visit, but foreign leaders have largely rejected it.

Rubio landed at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv hours after Hamas freed three Israeli hostages in Gaza in exchange for 369 Palestinian prisoners -- the sixth swap under the fragile ceasefire.

Negotiations on a second phase of the truce, aimed at securing a more lasting end to the war, are expected to begin next week in........

© International Business Times