Newsletters
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated on Monday that there were "promising signs" that Hamas was moving toward demilitarization.
He told Fox News that Egypt and Türkiye had been involved in the process and that progress had been made over the weekend.
He stressed that "the entirety of this project only works if Hamas is demilitarized," and that "until that happens, all of it is in question."
Rubio said the weekend saw positive developments: "I know that our partners in Egypt and Türkiye have been involved in this process. There's been some promising signs over the weekend that we're getting closer to an agreement with regards to them demilitarizing. But that has to happen."
"The entirety of this project only works if Hamas is demilitarized. Until that happens, all of it is in question. We're hopeful that in the next few days, we may have good news on that," he added.
He declined to say whether Washington would support Israel resuming war in Gaza if Hamas refused: "That's not the outcome we want. The outcome we want is for Hamas to be demilitarized, and a Palestinian security force backed by an international security force can secure Gaza."
Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem told Türkiye's state-run Anadolu Agency (AA) that insisting on disarmament while bypassing phase one ceasefire obligations "contradicts Trump's plan for the Gaza Strip" and "complicates the negotiations over phase two."
Qassem called for implementing all phase one obligations before moving to further discussions and described Israeli threats to resume fighting as "pressure tools that will not succeed," noting Israel "has not actually stopped the war" amid ongoing killings, continued occupation of over 50% of Gaza, and restrictions on aid.
The remarks followed a Cairo meeting attended by Hamas's senior Gaza official Khalil al-Hayya, Egyptian officials, Gaza high representative Nikolay Mladenov and senior U.S. adviser Aryeh Lightstone.
Hamas said that while it had complied with phase one commitments by releasing Israeli captives, Israel had failed to meet its humanitarian obligations and continued attacks that killed 786 Palestinians and injured 2,217 since the ceasefire. The total death toll stands at 72 thousand 594 people as of Tuesday, April 28.
Phase two was to include broader Israeli withdrawal, Gaza reconstruction and the commencement of faction disarmament.
Palestinian authorities said Israel had violated the ceasefire at least 2,400 times since October 2025.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich separately renewed calls to fully reoccupy Gaza and establish settlements there, according to Channel 14.
In the wide-ranging Fox News interview, Rubio also said Iran was "deeply fractured internally," with a tension between hardliners who understood they needed to run an economy and ideological hardliners with an "apocalyptic vision" who held ultimate power.
He said the supreme leader's credibility and access were "unresolved questions" and that negotiators on both sides were essentially negotiating with each other internally before any external deal could be reached.
In Lebanon, Rubio said Israel's Bekaa Valley strikes had been carried out under defensive ceasefire provisions, adding that Hezbollah intended to disrupt Israel-Lebanon talks that were "very successful" and that both sides wanted the same outcome: Hezbollah dismantled and Lebanese Armed Forces empowered to secure their own territory.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
