Rubio, in Israel, says a diplomatic solution to Hamas war may not be possible
- The San Juan Daily Star
- Sep 16
- 4 min read
By MICHAEL CROWLEY
Secretary of State Marco Rubio cast doubt on the chances of negotiating the surrender of Palestinian militant group Hamas, saying during a visit to Israel on Monday that a diplomatic deal to end the war in the Gaza Strip might not be possible.
Rubio spoke at a news conference alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel after the two men met for several hours. His comments struck a more pessimistic tone than that of President Donald Trump, who earlier this month said that a deal to stop the fighting in Gaza could come “very soon.”
While making clear that the United States would still pursue a peace settlement, Rubio said Hamas is “a terrorist group, a barbaric group, whose stated mission is the destruction of the Jewish state. So we’re not counting on that happening.”
His remarks were in harmony with those of Netanyahu, who reiterated that Israel “must make sure Hamas is eliminated.” At the end of the news conference, Netanyahu said he would prefer a Hamas “surrender” to continued fighting if possible, while saying nothing about the status of negotiations with the group.
Rubio made clear that with regards to the war, “the president wants this to be finished,” with the hostages released and Hamas defeated. Israel believes that about 20 hostages are still alive in Gaza.
Hamas has shown no willingness to lay down its arms. And Netanyahu, whom critics accuse of prolonging the war to extend his political career, shows no signs of compromising in his pursuit of a total victory over Hamas.
Some tensions have emerged between Netanyahu and Trump about the war in Gaza and Israel’s recent strike against Hamas leaders in the Gulf nation of Qatar. The State Department announced that Rubio will travel to Qatar on Tuesday.
Despite those tensions, Rubio and the Israeli premier seemed determined to present a unified front.
“It’s obvious that Israel has no better ally than America,” Netanyahu said. “The American-Israeli alliance has never been as strong as it is now.”
Still, it remains unclear whether Netanyahu and Trump are in full agreement on the conduct of the war in Gaza. Eager to cast himself as a peacemaker, Trump has promised to broker a ceasefire that would free the remaining hostages.
But his diplomacy has come up short, and Israel is now preparing a major military offensive in Gaza City that is likely to prolong the fighting for months.
There were growing signs that a ground invasion of Gaza City could begin soon. On Sunday, the Israeli military intensified airstrikes on the city and attacked four more high-rise buildings that it said were being used by Hamas.
Both Rubio and Netanyahu dodged questions Monday about whether they had discussed the planned offensive. Israel’s leader defended its objective, saying that Gaza City was Hamas’ most important remaining stronghold.
“We’re going to take over and destroy the Hamas stronghold,” Netanyahu said.
Rubio had declined to say Saturday whether Trump supports that goal. Israel has issued evacuation orders for the city, and more than 300,000 Palestinians have fled in the past two weeks, according to the Israeli military.
Aid organizations have warned that the displacement of hundreds of thousands more people to already crowded areas of central and southern Gaza will exacerbate the severe humanitarian crisis in the enclave, where hunger is rampant.
“No place is safe in Gaza. No one is safe,” Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner-general of the U.N. agency that aids Palestinians, wrote on social media Sunday as people fleeing Gaza City clogged the coastal road with traffic.
“More and more people are forced to leave, disoriented and uncertain, heading into the unknown,” Lazzarini added.
Gaza’s Civil Defense, the territory’s rescue service, has reported dozens killed in Gaza City over the past two weeks, since Israel declared the large urban area a combat zone and began bombing in preparation for a full-scale ground assault.
At their news conference Monday, Rubio and Netanyahu condemned growing international calls for the recognition of a Palestinian state. The governments of Britain, France, Canada, Belgium and Australia have all said in recent weeks that they will or may recognize such a state at the annual U.N. General Assembly gathering in New York next week.
Rubio dismissed the idea as symbolic and said it would only make Hamas “feel more emboldened.” He warned that a fresh push for Palestinian statehood could provoke an Israeli backlash — a likely reference to recent calls by right-wing Israeli ministers for the annexation of the West Bank in response.
Netanyahu, who vowed last week that “there will be no Palestinian state,” offered a similar assessment.
Before leaving Washington on Saturday, Rubio had told reporters that he would press Netanyahu about last week’s Israeli airstrike targeting Hamas leaders in Qatar, a U.S. ally in the Gulf that has acted as a mediator in talks to end the war in Gaza. The strike angered Trump, who said it would set back efforts to reach a peace deal.
But Monday, Rubio chose not to dwell on the subject.
“We are focused on what happens now. What happens next?” Rubio said at the news conference. He added that the U.S. would “continue to encourage Qatar to play a constructive role” as a middleman between Israel and Hamas.
While Hamas said the strike in Doha had failed to kill the senior figures in the group who were targeted, Netanyahu said he was “still getting the final reports” and rejected the idea that the attack might have failed.
“We sent a message to the terrorists: You can run, but you can’t hide, and we’ll get you,” he said.
Netanyahu also paid tribute to Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist who was assassinated in Utah last week. He called him a “tremendous, tremendous friend of Israel” who had even sent him advice on the defense of Israel.
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