Speaking to reporters alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Sunday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Hamas must be “eradicated,” a goal that would require Israel to restart its genocidal war on Gaza.
“Hamas cannot continue as a military or government force, and frankly, as long as it stands as a force that can govern, or as a force that can administer, or as a force that can threaten by use of violence, peace becomes impossible,” Rubio said. “They must be eliminated. It must be eradicated.”
In his remarks to the press, Netanyahu said the US and Israel shared a “common strategy” on Gaza, including when the “gates of hell will open” if all the Israeli hostages aren’t released by Hamas, repeating a threat from President Trump.
“I want to assure everyone who is now listening to us: President Trump and I are working in full cooperation and coordination between us. We have a common strategy, and we can’t always share the details of this strategy with the public, including when the gates of Hell would be opened, as they surely will if all our hostages are not released, until the last one of them,” Netanyahu said.
The Israeli leader also mentioned President Trump’s “bold vision” for Gaza, referring to his calls for the US to “take over” the Strip, which would involve an ethnic cleansing campaign. Netanyahu said he and Rubio discussed “how we can work together to ensure that that future becomes a reality.”
Discussing Iran, Netanyahu said Israel had “dealt a mighty blow to Iran’s terror axis” and that with US support, Israel could “finish the job.”
While Rubio was visiting Israel, the Israeli Defense Ministry announced it received a shipment of MK-84 2,000-pound bombs from the US. The shipment was paused by the Biden administration but released by President Trump.
The Rubio-Netanyahu meeting came a day after Hamas released three Israeli hostages in exchange for 369 Palestinians being freed from Israeli jails. Trump had previously said all hostages should be released on Saturday or that Israel should open the “gates of hell” on Gaza, signaling that the US is ready to back Israel if it restarts its bombing campaign and siege. On Saturday, Trump said it was up to Israel what to do in Gaza and said the US would “back the decision they make.”
While the ceasefire is very fragile, Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, insisted on Sunday that the second phase of the truce will “absolutely going to begin.” But so far, Israel hasn’t sent negotiators to discuss the second phase of the deal with mediators.
Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on Sunday that Israel was sending a negotiating team to Cairo to discuss the continued implementation of phase one of the deal. The statement also said the Israeli Security Cabinet would meet on Monday to give instructions to the negotiating team on phase two. Under the deal, the talks on phase two were supposed to start on the 16th day of the ceasefire, which began on January 19.
