Rubio: Hostages must ‘all be released immediately. Period’

The Trump administration is rejecting half-measures and demanding that Hamas immediately release all 48 hostages from the Gaza Strip, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday.

Rubio also dismissed media reports that Washington had received a letter from Hamas requesting a 60-day ceasefire in exchange for the release of 10 Israeli hostages.

“We haven’t seen the letter, we don’t have that letter, and even if we did, it wouldn’t matter,” said Rubio. “The president’s already made clear: He’s not interested in 60 days, 10 people. He wants all the hostages out, all 48, including the 20 who are alive.

“Why are we even talking about hostages, why do we still have to talk about hostages at this point? There shouldn’t be any. They should all be released immediately. Period,” continued the top American diplomat.

On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that the Hamas-led invasion and massacre in Israel’s south on Oct. 7, 2023, “was genocide at the highest level.”

“Babies were chopped in half, arms were cut off people, heads were cut off people—that’s genocide,” he said.

Trump was asked about the hostages in Gaza and whether a ceasefire would be the best way to secure their release.

The president somewhat disagreed, saying that the captives might be freed through military force as well. “A lot of strange things happen [in war]. A lot of results take place that you would never think were going to happen,” he noted.

“Look, young people don’t die, OK? They just don’t die. They can take a lot. But these people died in these horrible tunnels. They’re mostly in the tunnels. … I always said, the last 20, when you get down to the last 10 or 20, it’s going to be very tough. It’s a nasty situation. You can’t forget Oct. 7, but it’s a nasty situation. Terrible,” Trump said.