Secretary of State Marco Rubio said an agreement with Hamas to end its war with Israel “probably won’t happen” because “savage terrorists don’t often agree to disarm” during a press conference Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Asked whether he felt that “the military dismantlement of Hamas was still possible,” Rubio told reporters in Jerusalem that the terror group was welcome to end its side of the war at any time — but that scenario was unlikely.
“Hamas can surrender tonight if they want, lay down their weapons,” he said. “The problem is they’re a terrorist group, a barbaric group whose stated mission is the destruction of the Jewish state. So we’re not counting on that from happening.”
While Rubio said the United States would prefer to see the nearly three-year war end on diplomatic terms, Washington has a sober view of what it can expect out of a conflict that began with the barbaric killings of more than 1,200 Israelis and the kidnapping of hundreds more.
“I don’t know of anyone who would not rather see a negotiated settlement in which Hamas agrees to no longer be a terrorist group, lay down their arms, free the hostages — by the way, not just the hostages that they’re holding from Israel, but frankly, the people of Gaza that they’re also hosting hostage holding hostage as human shields,” he said.
“So that would be the ideal outcome.”
“It’s one that’s been worked on. But I think we have to be prepared for the fact that savage terrorists don’t normally agree to things like that, but we’ll continue to pursue that route,” he added.
But that “ideal outcome” may not come to be, he said, as it “may require, ultimately, a concise military operation to eliminate them.”
“We have to remember who we’re dealing with here, and that is a group of people that have dedicated their lives to violence and barbarism,” he said. “And when you’re confronting that hard reality — as much as we may wish that there be a sort of a peaceful, diplomatic way to end it, and we’ll continue to explore and be dedicated to it — we also have to be prepared for the possibility that that’s not going to happen.”
Without a negotiated settlement, Rubio said the only way for Israel’s war to end is for Hamas to be defeated, and for all hostages taken in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack to be returned.
“How does it end? It ends by eliminating the people who did it by ending them as a threat. It ends by releasing every single hostage, both living and deceased,” Rubio said. “There should never have been a hostage. There should not be a hostage now.
“When all of that is done, then we can begin the work — I hope internationally — to providing the people of Gaza the kind of future that they deserve, but that they will never have as long as a group like Hamas exists,” he added.
Rubio was in Israel for talks with Netanyahu less than a week after the Jewish state targeted Hamas leaders in a strike in Qatar, of which the Trump administration claimed they had no advance notice.
The secretary is expected to make a stop in Doha later this week, where he said he will explore “what role can Qatar play possibly in reaching an outcome here that leads not just to the end of this hostilities, not just to the release of all of the hostages, both living and deceased, not just the disarmament and elimination of Hamas, but also a better future for the people of Gaza.“
“We’re going to continue to encourage Qatar to play a constructive role in that regard,” he said. “We’re focused, because at the end of the day, no matter what has happened, these fundamentals still remain: There is still a Hamas, there is still 48 hostages [dead and alive], and there is still a war going on.
“All these things standing in the way of a better future for the people of Gaza and a peaceful end to what’s happening now, so we’re going to remain focused on what we can do next.”
