Marco Rubio says Gaza war not yet over as Israel and Hamas prepare for talks

The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said on Sunday that the war in Gaza has not ended, despite Israel and Hamas both agreeing to aspects of Donald Trump’s plan for an end to the almost two-year conflict in Gaza.

“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.

The comments by America’s top diplomat came as Trump warned that Hamas faces “complete obliteration” if it insists on staying in power in Gaza. Israeli and Hamas negotiators are preparing for talks in Cairo on Monday, but US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators are facing roadblocks, including the process of prisoner exchanges, that could delay prospects for a immediate ceasefire.

Trump told the network in a text exchange with host Jake Tapper “We will find out. Only time will tell!!!”, adding that he expects clarity “soon” on whether Hamas is genuinely committed to peace.

In a separate interview on ABC New’s This Week, Rubio said third-party peace negotiations are “the closest we’ve come to getting all of the hostages released”.

But he warned that the administration’s 20-point peace plan – to which Israel and Hamas have agreed subject to a several sticking points, including the disarming of Hamas – was likely subject to “a lot of pitfalls along the way. There’s some work to be done here.”

Rubio said he “would encourage everyone” to think about the plan in two phases – one in which Hamas has accepted is the president’s framework for release, the hostages are released and Israel pulls back.

But the logistics of that, he warned, are uncertain, including the process of exchange and who picks them up. “We want to see that happen very quickly,” he said. “The hostage piece has to happen very, very fast.”

“I do have hope that they’ll be released. And I think there’s chances,” he added.

Under the US plan, Hamas would release the remaining 48 hostages – about 20 of them believed to be alive – within three days. In return, Israel would halt its assault and withdraw from much of the territory, release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and allow an influx of humanitarian aid and eventual reconstruction.

“Hamas is very keen to reach an agreement to end the war and immediately begin the prisoner exchange process in accordance with the field conditions,” a Palestinian source told AFP said Sunday.

But they warned that “the occupation must not obstruct the implementation of President Trump’s plan. If the occupation has genuine intentions to reach an agreement, Hamas is ready.”

In his comments on US talk shows on Sunday, Rubio said the second phase of the US plan will involve discussions over what happens after Israel pulls back and how a new governance structure for Gaza would be created.

“That’s the part that I think is going to be a little tougher to work through, but that’s what’s going to provide permanency to the end of the conflict,” he told ABC.

He also told NBC’s Meet the Press that “everyone has agreed, including Israel, that eventually, at some point here as this process plays out, Gaza will be governed by a Palestinian technocratic group that’s not Hamas, that are not terrorists, with the help and the assistance and the guidance of an international consortium like the board of peace”.