Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday in an exclusive interview with Fox News that Gaza’s future depends on the complete disarmament of Hamas. The Trump administration, Rubio said, views dismantling the organization as a threshold condition without which stability in the region won’t be possible.
Despite the war continuing for over 930 days and Hamas controlling roughly half of the Strip, the secretary of state claims there’s been significant progress in secret negotiations mediated by Egypt and Turkey. Rubio stressed that the United States is closely monitoring implementation of the conditions, and that without Hamas laying down its weapons, the entire ceasefire structure is in doubt.
During the interview, Rubio detailed the administration’s position on conditions for continuing the diplomatic process in Gaza. He noted that despite official militant statements from Hamas, different processes are happening on the ground: “At the end of the day, this whole deal rests on them disarming and becoming demilitarized, and that hasn’t happened yet. That said, there were some promising signs over the weekend.
“I know our partners in Egypt and Turkey have been involved in this process. There are promising signs that we’re getting closer to an agreement on their demilitarization. This has to happen. The integrity of this project depends on Hamas being demilitarized. Until that happens, everything is in doubt.”
Rubio added that the administration hopes for good news in the coming days, but made clear the goal is to transfer control to a Palestinian security force backed by an international force. The current framework, mediated by the White House, includes an explicit demand for all factions in Gaza to lay down their weapons. Hamas has refused so far, but economic distress and pressure from regional states are changing the picture.
Turkey’s involvement in the past week is seen as dramatic. Ankara, which was considered Hamas’s protector, is now pressuring the organization’s leadership to accept the demilitarization framework to ensure their political survival on the day after. The American plan includes deploying an international force that will oversee the demilitarization and prevent Hamas from rearming. Rubio made clear this is the only way to prevent Israel from resuming military operations inside the Strip.