The ceasefire in Gaza is “tenuous” because Hamas is a terrorist organization responsible for violence against civilians, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told journalist Chris Cuomo by phone on NewsNation on Tuesday.
Rubio noted that Hamas does not operate according to international law, rendering the ceasefire uncertain.
“We’ll see what happens on Saturday. I think the President [Donald Trump]’s been very clear he wants to see those hostages come—be released. He’s tired of this drip, drip every week. There’s some Americans there as well. He wants to see them released, and he’s made very clear that if that’s not the case on Saturday, then then all bets are off. And it’s not going to be good for Hamas,” the top American diplomat said.
“But let’s hope that that resolves itself. I don’t think anyone wants to see a resumption of hostilities. But by the same token, we can’t have Hamas deciding what parts of the deal they’re going to live up to and what parts they’re not,” Rubio said.
He dismissed Hamas’s claim that Israel was blocking agreed-upon aid, pointing out that Hamas uses networks to smuggle weapons and rebuild its military strength. Rubio argued that Israel must prevent Hamas from using the ceasefire as an opportunity to regroup.
“You can’t allow them, Hamas, to use the ceasefire to sort of rebuild itself and recover strength. So it’s a ceasefire but it’s not a stupid ceasefire. You can’t have it as an opportunity for them to rebuild themselves and come back and do the same thing all over again. Hamas exists with a very clear purpose. That is the destruction of the Jewish state,” Rubio said.
He expressed hope for a resolution within 72 hours but made it clear that if the ceasefire collapses, Hamas would be to blame.
Adam Boehler, Trump’s special envoy for hostage affairs, was also on the call with Cuomo.
Rubio on Monday described Hamas as an “evil” and “monstrous” organization that must be wiped out.
During an interview on talk radio channel SiriusXM Patriot, he condemned the terrorist group for its treatment of hostages.
“This is an evil organization. Hamas is evil. It’s pure evil. These are monsters. These are savages. That’s a group that needs to be eradicated,” he said.
Unless Hamas returns Israeli hostages by noon on Saturday, the ceasefire will expire and the Israel Defense Forces will resume fighting until it defeats Hamas totally, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday.
The statement by Netanyahu announcing the ultimatum followed remarks by Trump on Monday, who also named Saturday, Feb. 15, at noon as the time after which “all hell will break loose” unless Hamas frees all hostages.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military is preparing to possibly resume fighting in Gaza following Hamas’s announcement that it would delay releasing hostages.