U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio emphasized on Wednesday the importance of freeing the hostages being held by Hamas, dismantling the terrorist group and addressing critical humanitarian needs in Gaza, while calling for greater focus on the first two issues.
“There’s a lot of attention being paid to the humanitarian, and we want to do everything we can to be helpful on the humanitarian problem, but not enough attention being paid to the fact that 20 people that had nothing to do with this are being held hostage in tunnels on the verge of death, and no real talk about how Hamas needs to be disarmed and disbanded,” the top American diplomat remarked during an appearance on Fox Business‘s “Kudlow,” where he discussed U.S. and Israeli policies regarding the ongoing conflict and the future of Gaza.
.@SecRubio on @larry_kudlow @foxbusiness: “Hamas cannot continue to exist … as long as Hamas exists as an armed group in Gaza there will not be a peaceful future because it's going to happen again — and this can never happen again.” pic.twitter.com/aMOcAMrIU8
— Department of State (@StateDept) August 7, 2025
“We have to focus more on those two things. You have to do all three, and all the talk is about humanitarian—which is important; we are willing to do a lot to be helpful there—but we have to focus on the other two. Those other two cannot be forgotten,” he said.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said that he wants all of the hostages returned from Gaza, including the deceased, “not five, not seven, all of them,” Rubio emphasized.
He insisted that any long-term solution must include ending the terrorist group’s rule in Gaza, saying that “ultimately Hamas cannot continue to exist. Even the Arab League says it. As long as Hamas exists as an armed group in Gaza, there will not be a peace, there will not be a peaceful future because it’s going to happen again and this can never happen again.”
