'This is the closest we've come' to getting Gaza hostages released, Rubio says

Hamas has responded favourably to US peace proposal but Secretary of State says 'a lot of work to be done'

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told US media on Sunday there is much to do to win Israel-Gaza peace but 'this is the closest we've come' to success. AP

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that “this is the closest we've come” to getting all remaining hostages in Gaza released.

Hamas on Friday issued a positive response to parts of US President Donald Trump's 20-point peace proposal for Gaza, agreeing to the release of hostages but raising issues with other points.

“There's a lot of pitfalls along the way, there's a lot of work to be done here,” Mr Rubio told ABC's This Week.

He outlined the two phases for a ceasefire, with the first being the release of the hostages being held in Gaza and Israel pulling back to the so-called yellow line. The second phase would involve setting up an “international governance structure” in the enclave, without Hamas.

“That's going to be a bit tougher to work through, but that's what going to provide permanency to the end of the conflict,” he said.

After receiving Hamas's response, Mr Trump said the group appeared to be ready for peace and said Israel needed to stop bombarding Gaza to allow for the release of the hostages.

Mr Rubio said that Israel has so far complied with Mr Trump's demand, with the exception of responding to “imminent threats”. When it was pointed out that Israel had carried out bombings in Gaza on Saturday night, Mr Rubio said that “we have to look into that”.

“There are a lot of opportunities here for whoever wants to sabotage it [the potential peace agreement] to do so, and that includes Hamas, by the way, or elements linked to Hamas,” he said.

US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff was travelling to Cairo for talks on Sunday and Monday with Egyptian officials on the way forward, sources told The National, while the White House told US media that Mr Trump's son-in-law and former adviser Jared Kushner will attend as well.

The Secretary of State said that logistics still need to be ironed out but he hoped that “90 per cent of this has been worked out” by the time the US negotiating team arrives in Cairo.

“But this cannot take weeks or even multiple days. We want to see this happen very fast,” he said. “If it doesn't, then I think the entire deal becomes imperilled.”

He reiterated that Hamas can have no part in governing Gaza in the future.

“If we truly want enduring peace, anyone who's in favour of enduring peace should be in favour of the demobilisation of Hamas, or any other armed terrorist organisation that seeks to operate from Gaza,” he said.

Mr Rubio told Fox News Sunday that Hamas was not a political movement, but “killers and savages and terrorists”, and that any delay to bring a deal over the line “would be a very bad sign”.

The Secretary of State hailed the UAE, Qatar, Indonesia and other countries for putting pressure on Hamas to end the conflict.

“He [Mr Trump] put together this coalition pushing in the same direction with us to try to get this … thing resolved,” he said.

During the UN General Assembly last month, several western countries, including France, recognised Palestinian statehood. The US and Israel called the declarations “political theatre”.

Mr Rubio told CBS's Face the Nation that a possible Palestinian state was still a long way off.

“The only way you're ever going to have anything that looks like statehood is in a negotiated deal with the Israelis,” he said. “The United States has not. And right now, there's no point in doing that because it's not even possible.”

Palestinian statehood “is not even a realistic thing right now, because who would govern that Palestinian state, Hamas?” Mr Rubio said.

“I think Israel would tell you they would love to turn over Gaza to a Palestinian organisation that isn't terrorists … But that doesn't exist right now.”