Rubio says Gaza war ‘not yet ended’ despite peace plan progress
US secretary of state says talks ‘cannot take weeks’ and will quickly determine if Hamas is serious about releasing hostages
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that the war in Gaza has not yet ended despite Israel and Hamas both agreeing to parts of US President Donald Trump’s plan for the strip, as Gazans called for its quick implementation to end their suffering.
“We will know very quickly whether Hamas is serious or not by how these technical talks go in terms of the logistics,” Rubio told NBC News’ Meet the Press about the release of hostages from Gaza.
Hamas had drawn a welcoming response from Trump on Friday by saying it accepted certain key parts of his 20-point proposal, including ending the war, Israel’s withdrawal, and the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian captives.
But the group left some issues up for further negotiation at talks in Egypt, as well as questions unanswered, such as whether it would be willing to disarm, a key demand from Israel to end the war.
Israeli negotiators will leave for Egypt on Sunday and negotiations on the release of the hostages are expected to begin on Monday, the day before the war’s second anniversary, said an Israeli government spokesperson.