Marco Rubio says Gaza war not yet over as Israel and Hamas prepare for talks | Trump administration
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that the war in Gaza was not over, despite Israel and Hamas to both accept aspects of Donald Trump’s plan for the end of the almost two -year conflict in Gaza.
“We will very quickly know whether Hamas is serious or not by the way in which these technical talks take place in terms of logistics,” Rubio told NBC News from the press on the release of Gaza’s hostages.
The comments of the first American diplomat came while Trump warned that Hamas faces a “complete obliteration” if it insists on staying in power in Gaza. Israeli and Hamas negotiators are preparing for talks in Cairo on Monday, but American, Egyptian and Qatari mediators are faced with roadblocks, including the prisoner exchange process, which could delay the prospects of an immediate ceasefire.
Trump told the network in an exchange of text with the host Jake Tapper “we will discover it. Only time will tell us !!!”, adding that he expects “soon” clarity on the question of whether Hamas is really engaged in peace.
In a separate interview on ABC New’s this week, Rubio said that third -party peace negotiations are “the closest we have come to release all the hostages”.
But he warned that the 20 -point peace plan of the administration – to which Israel and Hamas agreed subject to several collision points, including the disarmament of Hamas – was probably subject to “a lot of traps along the way. There is work to do here ”.
Rubio said he “encouraged everyone” to think about the plan in two phases – one in which Hamas has accepted is the framework of the president for the Liberation, the hostages are published and Israel withdraws.
But the logistics of this, he warned, are uncertain, including the exchange process and which collects them. “We want it to happen very quickly,” he said. “The hostage room must occur very, very quickly.”
“I hope they will be released. And I think there is a chance,” he added.
As part of the American plan, Hamas would release the remaining 48 hostages – around 20 of them that would be alive – within three days. In return, Israel would stop its assault and retire from a large part of the territory, would release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and authorize an influx of humanitarian aid and possible reconstruction.
“Hamas is very eager to reach an agreement to end the war and immediately start the prisoner exchange process in accordance with the conditions on the ground,” a Palestinian source told AFP on Sunday.
But they warned that “the occupation should not hinder the implementation of President Trump’s plan. If the occupation has real intention of reaching an agreement, Hamas is ready. “
In his comments on American talk shows on Sunday, Rubio said that the second phase of the American plan will involve discussions on what is happening after Israel has withdrawn and how a new governance structure for Gaza would be created.
“This is the part which, I think, will be a little more difficult to follow, but that is what will give permanence at the end of the conflict,” he told ABC.
He also told NBC Meet the Press that “everyone had agreed, including Israel, that ultimately, at some point here, while this process takes place, Gaza will be governed by a Palestinian technocratic group which is not Hamas, which are not terrorists, with the help and help and the advice of an international consortium like the Board of Peace”.
