Rubio says Gaza war is not yet over, priority is to get hostages out

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that the conflict in Gaza “has not yet” ended, calling the release of hostages held by Hamas only the first phase of President Donald Trump’s proposed peace plan.

He noted that while progress had been made, the next steps remained uncertain and would require detailed negotiations.Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press, Rubio said Hamas had “basically” accepted Trump’s framework for a hostage release, and that discussions were now focused on the logistical arrangements. “They have also agreed, in principle, to what comes next,” he said, adding that “a lot of details are going to have to be worked out.”

In a separate interview with Fox News Sunday, Rubio cautioned that the outcome was not guaranteed. “No one can tell you it’s a 100 percent certainty,” he said. He told NBC that Washington would soon know “very quickly” whether Hamas was genuinely committed to the agreement, as technical talks on the release continued.

“The immediate goal — and one we believe can be achieved soon — is the release of all hostages in exchange for Israel’s withdrawal to the yellow line, where it stood inside Gaza in mid-August,” Rubio explained.

He described the second phase, dealing with Gaza’s long-term governance, as “even harder.” “The challenge will be establishing a Palestinian technocratic authority that isn’t Hamas, disarming militant groups, and ensuring they don’t rebuild tunnels or resume attacks,” he said. “That’s the critical part — without it, there won’t be lasting peace.”

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