Secretary of State Marco Rubio appeared on ABC’s “This Week” Sunday, outlining the Trump administration’s new proposal aimed at ending the conflict between Israel and Hamas. While describing the plan as the most promising effort yet to bring hostages home and establish peace, Rubio made it clear that nothing moves forward without full compliance from Hamas—and warned that peace is impossible as long as Gaza remains a launchpad for terror.
Rubio called the first phase of the deal “non-negotiable”: all 48 hostages, both living and deceased, must be returned before Israel scales back its military posture. “This is the closest we’ve come to getting them all back,” Rubio told host Martha Raddatz. “Every single one must come home before we can talk about long-term solutions.”
Phase two, he said, would require establishing a new governing body for Gaza, composed of Palestinian technocrats with zero ties to Hamas. Rubio said this step is key to ending the cycle of violence but admitted it would be a massive international effort. “There cannot be a future for Gaza that includes Hamas,” he said bluntly.
Asked directly if the Trump administration supports Palestinian statehood, Rubio sidestepped. “It’s not a yes or no question,” he responded, calling it a long-term process that depends entirely on Gaza’s ability to rid itself of extremist leadership. “You don’t reward terror with sovereignty,” he added.
A major piece of the plan hinges on demobilization. “As long as there’s a threat emanating from Gaza, there’s not going to be peace,” Rubio warned. Any entity using Gaza to build tunnels, launch rockets, or kidnap civilians must be dismantled. “That demobilization has to happen. Hamas cannot be part of any governing future.”
Rubio also addressed operational concerns, noting that Israel would pause its offensive actions to allow for safe hostage transfers. But he didn’t sugarcoat the risks. “If Hamas drags its feet or plays games, they’re going to miss their window,” Rubio said, hinting that President Trump is prepared to act decisively if the deal falls apart.
He added that the administration will not tolerate diplomatic stalling. “We can’t still be negotiating the mechanics three weeks from now,” Rubio said. “Time is not on anyone’s side.”
In essence, the Trump peace plan is built around two pillars: immediate and full hostage release, followed by the creation of a secure and terror-free governance model for Gaza. Rubio ended the interview with a cautious note of hope.
“This isn’t going to be easy,” he said. “But we are in a much better place today than we were just a week ago.”
Sec Rubio: “Until Gaza is governed by people that are not interested in destroying Israel, until there are no security threats emanating against Israel from Gaza, forget about statehood.
Right now, the priority number one is to get the hostages released.” pic.twitter.com/nO4cpnEd2e
— Arsen Ostrovsky ?? (@Ostrov_A) October 5, 2025
“This is the closest we’ve come to getting all of the hostages released. Every single one.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed optimism that a deal between Hamas and Israel to end the war in Gaza could finally be reached.
Read more: https://t.co/45YCwsYvhB pic.twitter.com/jFqk6psCMa
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) October 5, 2025
The post Rubio Lays Out Trump Peace Plan: No Ceasefire Without Hostage Release, No Peace While Gaza Is Armed appeared first on Real News Now.
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