As Trump hurries Gaza peace plan, Rubio flags ‘a lot of pitfalls’

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 several aspects of the peace proposal shared by US President Donald Trump. While speaking to NBC News, the American diplomat elucidated the complexities of the conflict, which is inching closer to its second anniversary.

“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 remarks from him came as Trump warned that Hamas would face “complete obliteration” if it insists on staying in power in Gaza.

Meanwhile, Israeli and Hamas negotiators are in Cairo preparing for talks which are scheduled to take place on Monday. However, US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators are facing roadblocks, including the process of prisoner exchanges that could delay the imposition of an immediate ceasefire.

‘Only time will tell’: Trump

In a text exchange with host Jake Tapper, Trump told the network, “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 with ABC News, Rubio maintained that the third-party peace negotiations are “the closest we’ve come to getting all of the hostages released”.

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

The American diplomat maintained that 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.

However, Rubio noted that the logistics of this 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 are chances,” he added. It’ll be interesting to see the takeaways from the first day of negotiations.