US Secretary of State Mark Rubio began a tour of Europe and the Middle East on Thursday, including Germany, Israel, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Moving forward with the implementation of the Gaza ceasefire agreement will be at the forefront of his discussions.

Rubio will travel to Munich on Feb. 13 to participate in the Munich Security Conference, where he will "discuss a range of U.S. priorities with international partners," State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said in a statement.

The spokeswoman noted that while in Munich, Rubio will also participate in a meeting of G7 foreign ministers.

US allies expect the US administration to present a long-awaited plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war at the Munich Security Conference, according to people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported.

The sources said that Trump's special envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, will present the broad outlines of the plan to allies, but the sources did not specify how detailed the discussions will be or what form it will take.

Rubio will continue his diplomatic tour with visits to Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates from February 15 to 18.

The ministry said that Rubio will discuss with senior officials during his tour the release of Israeli detainees in Gaza and proceeding with the second phase of the agreement.

The US State Department statement noted that the US Secretary of State's meetings with senior officials "will enhance US interests in encouraging regional cooperation, stability and peace."

The statement said the trip would focus on the release of American detainees and all other detainees held by Hamas, progress toward the second phase of the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, and combating what it described as "destabilizing activities by the Iranian regime and its proxies."

Rubio's visit to the Middle East comes after US President Donald Trump revealed his plan to displace Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, which was met with widespread condemnation.

The US Secretary of State had earlier called on countries criticising Trump's plan to offer proposals to help the besieged and devastated Strip.

Rubio said Trump was offering to rebuild because Gaza is currently "uninhabitable," explaining that Trump's controversial remarks were partly intended to encourage other countries with "economic and technological capacity" to also help with reconstruction.