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"><span>Hamas ‘must be eradicated’, says Marco Rubio, casting fresh doubt on fragile ceasefire</span></h1><figure><img src="/cms_media/module_img/9009/4504777_3_articlexlarge_39ad25a55af1495a913bd372ad31d58f.jpg.jpg" title="Hamas ‘must be eradicated’, says Marco Rubio, casting fresh doubt on fragile ceasefire" alt="Hamas ‘must be eradicated’, says Marco Rubio, casting fresh doubt on fragile ceasefire" data-src="/cms_media/module_img/9009/4504777_3_articlemedium_39ad25a55af1495a913bd372ad31d58f.jpg.jpg" fetchpriority=high loading=eager sizes="(max-width: 520px) calc(100vw - 60px), (max-width: 767px) 438px, 576px" srcset="/cms_media/module_img/9009/4504777_3_articlexlarge_39ad25a55af1495a913bd372ad31d58f.jpg.jpg 1600w, /cms_media/module_img/9009/4504777_3_articlelarge_39ad25a55af1495a913bd372ad31d58f.jpg.jpg 1200w, /cms_media/module_img/9009/4504777_3_articlemedium_39ad25a55af1495a913bd372ad31d58f.jpg.jpg 800w, /cms_media/module_img/9009/4504777_3_articlesmall_39ad25a55af1495a913bd372ad31d58f.jpg.jpg 600w"> <figcaption class=imgFCap>US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands during a news conference in Jerusalem, Israel (Ohad Zwigenberg/pool/AP)</figcaption></figure></div></div><div class="byline date-byline">Sun, 16 Feb, 2025 - 13:45</div><div class=author-byline><div class="byline">Matthew Lee and Natalie Melzer, Associated Press</div></div><div class=generic-text><div class="ctx_content"><div class=share-buttons-mobile><a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://www.irishexaminer.com/world/arid-41575684.html" class=share-popup id=share-f aria-label="Share on Facebook" target=popup><i class="fa fa-facebook-f"></i></a> <a href="https://api.whatsapp.com/send?text=Irish Examiner - https://www.irishexaminer.com/world/arid-41575684.html" id=share-w aria-label="Share on WhatsApp" data-action=share/whatsapp/share target=popup><i class="fa fa-whatsapp"></i></a> <a href="http://www.twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/world/arid-41575684.html" class=share-popup id=share-x aria-label="Share on X" target=popup><svg width=19 height=19 aria-hidden=true viewbox="0 0 24 24"><g><path d="M18.244 2.25h3.308l-7.227 8.26 8.502 11.24H16.17l-5.214-6.817L4.99 21.75H1.68l7.73-8.835L1.254 2.25H8.08l4.713 6.231zm-1.161 17.52h1.833L7.084 4.126H5.117z"></path></g></svg></a><span id=expand-share><i class="fa fa-ellipsis-v"></i><div class=expanded-icons style="display: none"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/world/arid-41575684.html" class=share-popup id=share-l aria-label="Share on LinkedIn"><i class="fa fa-linkedin"></i></a> <a href="https://reddit.com/submit?url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/world/arid-41575684.html&title=Hamas ‘must be eradicated’, says Marco Rubio, casting fresh doubt on fragile ceasefire" class=share-popup id=share-r aria-label="Share on Reddit"><i class="fa fa-reddit-alien"></i></a> <a href="mailto:?subject=Irish Examiner Article&body=https://www.irishexaminer.com/world/arid-41575684.html" id=share-m aria-label="Share - mail" target="_blank"><i class="fa fa-envelope"></i></a></div></span></div><story><p class="">US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has fully endorsed Israel’s war aims in the Gaza Strip, saying Hamas “must be eradicated” and throwing the future of the shaky ceasefire into further doubt.</p><p class="">He met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Sunday at the start of a regional tour, where he is likely to face pushback from Arab leaders over President Donald Trump’s proposal to transfer the Palestinian population out of Gaza and redevelop it under US ownership.</p><div data-ad-unit-id="2695176/IrishExaminer/ROS_InContent" id="div-gpt-ad-incontent-0"> <script type="text/javascript">googletag.cmd.push(function(){ googletag.display("div-gpt-ad-incontent-0");}); </script> </div><div class="inline-paywall-IE-template"><p class="">Mr Netanyahu has welcomed the plan, and said he and Mr Trump have a “common strategy” for Gaza’s future.</p><p class="">Echoing the US president, he said “the gates of hell would be open” if Hamas does not release dozens of remaining hostages abducted in its October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the war.</p><p class="">Their remarks came just two weeks before the first phase of the ceasefire is set to end. The second phase, in which Hamas is to release dozens of remaining hostages in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting truce and the withdrawal of Israeli forces, has yet to be negotiated.</p><p class=""></p> <img src="//content.assets.pressassociation.io/AP/2025/02/16/ce33718800274e30aec5944ab42af9d0.jpg?w=640" title="Mideast Israel Rubio" srcset="https://content.assets.pressassociation.io/AP/2025/02/16/ce33718800274e30aec5944ab42af9d0.jpg?w=320 320w, https://content.assets.pressassociation.io/AP/2025/02/16/ce33718800274e30aec5944ab42af9d0.jpg?w=640 640w, https://content.assets.pressassociation.io/AP/2025/02/16/ce33718800274e30aec5944ab42af9d0.jpg?w=1280 1280w"> <figcaption class=imgFCap>Speaking alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Marco Rubio, left, said Hamas ‘must be eradicated’ (Evelyn Hockstein/pool/AP)</figcaption><p></p><p class="">Mr Rubio said Hamas “cannot continue as a military or government force”.</p><p class="">He said: “As long as it stands as a force that can govern or as a force that can administer or as a force that can threaten by use of violence, peace becomes impossible.</p><p class="">“It must be eradicated.”</p><div data-ad-unit-id="2695176/IrishExaminer/ROS_InContent" id="div-gpt-ad-incontent-1"> <script type="text/javascript">googletag.cmd.push(function(){ googletag.display("div-gpt-ad-incontent-1");}); </script> </div><p class="">Such language could complicate efforts to continue talks with Hamas, which, despite suffering heavy losses in the war, remains intact and in control of Gaza.</p><p class="">In Gaza on Sunday, the Israeli military said it carried out an air strike on people who approached its forces in the south.</p><p class="">The Hamas-run Interior Ministry said the strike killed three of its policemen while they were securing the entry of aid trucks near Rafah, on the Egyptian border.</p><p class="">Hamas said the attack was a “serious violation” of the ceasefire and accused Mr Netanyahu of trying to sabotage the deal.</p><p class=""></p> <img src="//content.assets.pressassociation.io/AP/2025/02/15/73ba0266f99f41a0b994b9b45d0b8890.jpg?w=640" title="Mideast Israel Rubio" srcset="https://content.assets.pressassociation.io/AP/2025/02/15/73ba0266f99f41a0b994b9b45d0b8890.jpg?w=320 320w, https://content.assets.pressassociation.io/AP/2025/02/15/73ba0266f99f41a0b994b9b45d0b8890.jpg?w=640 640w, https://content.assets.pressassociation.io/AP/2025/02/15/73ba0266f99f41a0b994b9b45d0b8890.jpg?w=1280 1280w"> <figcaption class=imgFCap>Marco Rubio arrived in Israel to begin his tour of the Middle East (Evelyn Hockstein/pool/AP)</figcaption><p></p><p class="">Resuming the war could be a death sentence for the remaining hostages and may not succeed in annihilating Hamas, which survived a 15-month Israeli onslaught and quickly reasserted control over Gaza when the ceasefire took hold last month.</p><p class="">Mr Netanyahu has signalled readiness to resume the war after the current stage of the ceasefire and has offered Hamas a chance to surrender and send its top leaders into exile. Hamas has rejected such a scenario.</p><p class="">The Israeli PM is also yet to approve the entry of mobile homes and heavy machinery into the Gaza Strip, as required by the ceasefire agreement. Hamas had threatened to hold up the release of hostages last week over the issue, raising fears the ceasefire could unravel, before proceeding with the release based on what it said were assurances from Arab mediators.</p><div data-ad-unit-id="2695176/IrishExaminer/ROS_InContent" id="div-gpt-ad-incontent-2"> <script type="text/javascript">googletag.cmd.push(function(){ googletag.display("div-gpt-ad-incontent-2");}); </script> </div><p class="">An Israeli official said the issue will be discussed in the coming days and that Israel is co-ordinating with the United States.</p><p class="">In another sign of the two allies closing ranks, Israel’s Defence Ministry meanwhile said on Sunday it received a shipment of MK-84 munitions from the United States. The Biden administration had paused a shipment of such bombs last year over concerns about civilian casualties in Gaza.</p><p class="">In a radio interview last week, Mr Rubio indicated Mr Trump’s proposal was in part aimed at pressuring Arab states to come up with their own post-war plan that would be acceptable to Israel, which says Hamas can have no role in Gaza.</p><p class="">He also appeared to suggest that Arab countries send in troops to combat Hamas, which survived Israel’s devastating 15-month onslaught and remains in firm control of the territory.</p><p class=""></p> <img src="//content.assets.pressassociation.io/AP/2025/02/15/21b644665b354559a1ce1074f1143828.jpg?w=640" title="Israel Palestinians" srcset="https://content.assets.pressassociation.io/AP/2025/02/15/21b644665b354559a1ce1074f1143828.jpg?w=320 320w, https://content.assets.pressassociation.io/AP/2025/02/15/21b644665b354559a1ce1074f1143828.jpg?w=640 640w, https://content.assets.pressassociation.io/AP/2025/02/15/21b644665b354559a1ce1074f1143828.jpg?w=1280 1280w"> <figcaption class=imgFCap>The release of Palestinian prisoners and Israeli hostages continued on Saturday as the fragile truce held (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP)</figcaption><p></p><p class="">“If someone has a better plan, and we hope they do, if the Arab countries have a better plan, then that’s great,” Mr Rubio said on Thursday.</p><p class="">But “Hamas has guns”, he added. “Someone has to confront those guys. It’s not going to be American soldiers. If the countries in the region can’t figure that piece out, then Israel is going to have to do it and then we’re back to where we’ve been.”</p><div data-ad-unit-id="2695176/IrishExaminer/ROS_InContent" id="div-gpt-ad-incontent-3"> <script type="text/javascript">googletag.cmd.push(function(){ googletag.display("div-gpt-ad-incontent-3");}); </script> </div><p class="">Mr Rubio is not scheduled to meet with any Palestinians on his trip.</p><p class="">For Arab leaders, facilitating the mass expulsion of Palestinians or battling Palestinian militants on behalf of Israel are both nightmare scenarios. Either would open them up to fierce domestic criticism and potentially destabilise an already volatile region.</p><p class="">Egypt says it will host an Arab summit on February 27 and is working with other countries on a counter-proposal that would allow for Gaza to be rebuilt without removing its population, which human rights groups say would likely violate international law.</p><p class="">Egypt has warned any mass influx of Palestinians from Gaza would undermine its nearly half-century-old peace treaty with Israel, a cornerstone of American influence in the region.</p><p class="">Arab and Muslim countries have until now conditioned any support for post-war Gaza on a return to Palestinian governance with a pathway to statehood in Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories Israel seized in the 1967 war.</p><p class="">The Biden administration spent months rallying regional powers behind such plans, but they fizzled as Israel ruled out not only a Palestinian state but also any role in Gaza for the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, whose forces were driven out when Hamas seized power there in 2007.</p><p class=""></p> <img src="//content.assets.pressassociation.io/AP/2025/02/14/0c1778dacda04e9a884f6e1176db288f.jpg?w=640" title="Trump" srcset="https://content.assets.pressassociation.io/AP/2025/02/14/0c1778dacda04e9a884f6e1176db288f.jpg?w=320 320w, https://content.assets.pressassociation.io/AP/2025/02/14/0c1778dacda04e9a884f6e1176db288f.jpg?w=640 640w, https://content.assets.pressassociation.io/AP/2025/02/14/0c1778dacda04e9a884f6e1176db288f.jpg?w=1280 1280w"> <figcaption class=imgFCap>US President Donald Trump has suggested Israel should resume the war if hostages abducted by Hamas are not released (Alex Brandon/AP)</figcaption><p></p><p class="">Hamas has said it is willing to relinquish power in Gaza but insists on Palestinian rule.</p><div data-ad-unit-id="2695176/IrishExaminer/ROS_InContent" id="div-gpt-ad-incontent-4"> <script type="text/javascript">googletag.cmd.push(function(){ googletag.display("div-gpt-ad-incontent-4");}); </script> </div><p class="">Mr Rubio will also visit the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, regional heavyweights that have rejected any mass displacement of Palestinians and would be key to any regional response.</p><p class="">The United Arab Emirates was the driving force behind the 2020 Abraham Accords in which four Arab states normalised relations with Israel during Mr Trump’s previous term.</p><p class="">The president hopes to expand the accords to include Saudi Arabia, potentially offering closer US defence ties, but the kingdom has said it will not normalise relations with Israel without a pathway to a Palestinian state.</p><p class="">Mr Rubio will not be visiting Egypt or Jordan, close US allies at peace with Israel that have refused to accept any influx of Palestinian refugees. Mr Trump has at times suggested he might slash US aid to the two countries, which could be devastating for their economies, if they do not comply.</p><p class="">He is also skipping Qatar, which along with Egypt had served as a key mediator with Hamas in brokering the ceasefire.</p><p class="">Mr Trump took credit for the ceasefire, which was reached in the closing days of the Biden administration, after his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, joined the talks.</p><p class="">But more recently, Mr Trump has suggested Israel resumes the war if the remaining dozens of hostages abducted in Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack, which triggered the fighting, are not released sooner than planned.</p><p class=""></p><script>(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){ (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o), m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m) 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