Backing return to fighting, Rubio says Israel can’t let Hamas use ceasefire to rearm
US secretary of state reiterates Trump’s warnings that Israel will go in and eliminate terror group unless all hostages are released, but expresses hope issue ‘resolves itself’
WASHINGTON — US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that Israel could not allow Hamas to use a ceasefire in Gaza to rearm, appearing to back a potential resumption of fighting by Israeli forces as a three-week-old truce and hostage release deal teetered on the precipice of collapse.
Taking a victory lap through US news networks following a deal securing the release of American Marc Fogel from Russian prison, Rubio echoed tough talk from US President Donald Trump who said that Hamas would face harsh consequences if hostages were not released as planned Saturday, accusing the terror group of breaching the deal while expressing hope that the issue “resolves itself.”
Hamas said Monday — and reiterated Tuesday — that it planned to delay the release of three hostages due to be freed Saturday because Israel allegedly failed to meet the terms of the ceasefire, including by not allowing an agreed-upon number of tents and other aid into Gaza.
A spokesperson for the Defense Ministry unit coordinating aid deliveries has dismissed the Hamas officials’ claim as “totally fake news.”
Asked about the Hamas claim by cable network NewsNation, Rubio responded that “you can’t believe anything Hamas says.” But he also appeared to justify potential Israeli restrictions on what goods can enter the Strip.
“Part of the challenge here is that Hamas continues to use networks to smuggle in weaponry and aid for themselves to reconstitute themselves,” Rubio said.
“Israel can’t allow that to happen. You can’t allow Hamas to use the ceasefire to rebuild itself and recover strength,” he continued. “It’s a ceasefire, but it’s not a stupid ceasefire.”
The three-stage ceasefire agreement, reached last month, halted some 15 months of fighting triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel, when thousands of terrorists invaded southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and kidnapping 251 hostages.
The deal requires Hamas to release all its hostages and Israel to release thousands of Palestinian security prisoners — including hundreds serving life sentences — and halt the fighting in the Strip, followed by negotiations for a “sustainable calm” and IDF withdrawal from the enclave.
There are currently 17 hostages, living and dead, still set to return amid the deal’s ongoing 42-day first phase.
On Monday, Trump proposed that Israel end the ceasefire and resume fighting if all hostages are not released by Saturday at noon.
The ultimatum was partially adopted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said Tuesday that the ceasefire would end if hostages were not freed Saturday without explicitly demanding that all 76 hostages still in Gaza, including the remains of those killed, be released then.
In a series of shambolic statements, the government threatened a return to war if “our hostages” were not released, later revised that to demand that all nine living hostages slated to be freed in the first phase of the ceasefire be released “in the coming days,” and finally reverted to demanding “all of them” be freed, while leaving the door open to various interpretations.
According to Army Radio, the vague statements reflected confusion in the security cabinet about the specifics of Trump’s demands.
“We are in a situation where we can’t refuse to adopt [the plan from] Trump, and therefore the prime minister’s wording was convoluted,” an unnamed minister was quoted telling the station.
Rubio said Trump had decided to demand that all hostages be freed after seeing the condition of three emaciated hostages released on February 8.
“The president is tired of the drip, drip, drip… he wants people out. You saw the condition of the hostages that were released just a week ago, and they were on the verge of death,” he said.
The secretary of state described the ceasefire as “very tenuous” while reiterating the threats issued by Trump.
“He wants to see them released, and he’s made very clear that if that’s not the case on Saturday, then all bets are off,” Rubio told NewsNation. “And it’s not going to be good for Hamas. But let’s hope that that resolves itself. I don’t think anyone wants to see a resumption of hostilities.”
In a separate interview with Fox News, Rubio accused Hamas of “breaking the deal,” without elaborating.
He predicted a collapse of the ceasefire would return the region to “where we were a few months ago where Hamas is going to be eliminated and the Israelis are going to go in and take care of that problem.”
Hamas said on Tuesday that Trump’s threat to “let hell break out” on Gaza if all hostages are not returned by Saturday “has no value and further complicates matters.”
“Trump must remember that there is an agreement that must be respected by both parties and this is the only way to return the prisoners,” Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told AFP, referring to the hostages.
The Israel Defense Forces has girded for a possible resumption of fighting since Hamas’s Monday announcement, bolstering troop levels on the Gaza border, canceling planned leave for soldiers and testing sirens in the Tel Aviv area Wednesday morning.
Negotiations on the agreement’s second phase — to include the return of the remaining 59 hostages, the release of many more Palestinian security prisoners, a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and a permanent ceasefire — were meant to begin last week, but have also been thrown into doubt by the flurry of threats and warnings in recent days.
Netanyahu had already appeared to suggest a resumption of fighting with Hamas would take place rather than continuing to the second phase of the deal, while Trump had called for Israel to destroy Hamas and relocate Palestinians outside of the Strip to pave the way for an American takeover and redevelopment of the enclave.
Sitting alongside Trump in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Jordan’s King Abdullah announced that Amman would take in 2,000 sick children from Gaza, seeking to curry favor with Washington after the president threatened to withhold aid unless Jordan and Egypt agreed to take in Palestinians as part of his controversial plan.
Rubio said Washington was open to hearing alternative plans from Arab allies who oppose Trump’s proposal to take over Gaza.
“If people don’t like the Trump plan for Gaza — right now it’s the only plan. It’s now incumbent upon the Arab countries… if they think they’ve got a better plan, we need to hear it,” he said.
Egypt said Tuesday that it would “present a comprehensive vision for the reconstruction” of the Gaza Strip that ensures Palestinians remain on their land, while expressing hopes of cooperating with the Trump administration “to reach comprehensive and just peace in the region.”
