‘Not Enough Attention’ Given To Hostages Held By Hamas, Rubio Declares

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that “not enough attention” is being focused on the hostages still being held by Hamas.

During an interview on Fox Business, host Larry Kudlow noted the Israeli government might engage in a complete military takeover of Gaza and pressed Rubio on whether he has spoken to the prime minister — and whether he thinks Israel is making a wise decision.

“Well, ultimately the president has said that it’s up to Israel to decide what they need to do for their own security. I’ve spoken often — almost daily — to somebody in the Israeli government, often to the prime minister but many times to many members of his team,” the top diplomat said.

Rubio then explained how there are three “interrelated” problems when it comes to the situation in Gaza.

“The first is there is a humanitarian problem that needs to be addressed. We’re working very hard to figure out ways to address it in ways that doesn’t benefit Hamas but that allows people to be fed and prevents a further humanitarian problem there that we’re seeing now,” Rubio said.

He added, “The second is that there are 20 innocent human beings that are being held hostage in horrifying conditions. And the third is that as long as Hamas exists, there will not be peace. There cannot be a permanent peace. It’ll restart again if Hamas remains.”

President Donald Trump recently said there was “real starvation” going on in Gaza, in a rare break with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who contends Hamas is hoarding supplies and no famine is taking place.

Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said on Friday that he and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee met with Israeli officials to assess the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, where the fight against Hamas continues.

“The purpose of the visit was to give [President Trump] a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza,” Witkoff posted on X.

Rubio said there is “a lot of attention” being placed on the humanitarian issue and noted “we want to do everything we can to be helpful on the humanitarian problem.”

The secretary went on to say, “But not enough attention is 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. We have to focus more on those two things.”

He concluded: “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. And it’s all — the president has said he wants all the hostages out — not five, not seven, all of them, including the deceased hostages. And 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 … peaceful future, because it’s going to happen again. And that can’t — this can never happen again.”