US Foreign Minister Calls Israel's Military Return To Battlefield Not Solving Hamas Issues

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. (Wikimedia Commons/US Department of State/Freddie Everett)

JAKARTA - United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated that the return of the Israeli military (IDF) to the battlefield did not resolve the issue of the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

He said this when discussing President Donald Trump's proposal regarding the permanent relocation of Gaza and the United States residents and then took over the enclave to be built, in a radio interview.

Foreign Minister Rubio reiterated Washington was willing to consider alternative plans from its Arab allies, but "any plan that lets Hamas stay there will be a problem as Israel will not tolerate it."

"We will give (as Arab allies) the opportunity to make plans and not just pay for them because someone has to take to the field. Hamas has weapons," he explained, launching The Times of Israel on February 14.

"Someone has to face those people. Who is it? Not the American army. If countries in the region can't find a way out, then Israel must, and we will return to where we are," said Foreign Minister Rubio.

"So it doesn't solve the problem," he said.

This is the first time President Trump's government officials have made such recognitions, although it is unclear whether it is a policy stance, whether Foreign Minister Rubio spoke spontaneously, or whether he spoke on behalf of President Trump.

It is known that President Trump this week said the ceasefire agreement in Gaza would be null and the chaos would return to the region, following Hamas' announcement to postpone the release of hostages which was originally scheduled for Saturday. He even said that Hamas should release all hostages in Gaza.

This was welcomed in Israel with a number of officials and figures echoing the war back in Gaza to kill Hamas.

Later, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the ceasefire agreement would be scrapped and the IDF would return to the battlefield if Hamas did not release the hostages.

Yesterday, Hamas signaled a crisis that threatened to destabilize a fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip could be avoided, after accusing each other of violating a deal with Israel. They rejected President Trump's "language of threats and intimidation" and Prime Minister Netanyahu.

"Therefore, Hamas reiterated its commitment to implementing the agreement as signed, including prisoner exchanges in accordance with the specified period," Hamas said in a statement.

Separately, Israeli Government spokesman David Mencer later told reporters the three hostages had to be released alive by Hamas on Saturday so the ceasefire could continue.

By ceasefire, Hamas has so far released 16 Israeli hostages from the initial group of 33 children, women and old men who agreed to exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in the first phase of a multi-phase deal.

Hamas also released five Thai hostages in an unscheduled release.

Negotiations in the second phase of the agreement, which the mediators hope will approve the release of the remaining hostages as well as the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, should have taken place in Doha but the Israeli team returned to its country on Monday, two days after arrival.

The war in Gaza erupted after a Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed at least 1,200 people, according to Israeli tally, and caused more than 250 people to be held hostage.

This sparked an unrelenting Israeli response that had destroyed the coastal enclave, which left 48,239 Palestinians dead and 111,676 injured, where the majority of the victims were children and women according to Gaza's medical sources, quoted from WAFA.