Top US diplomat says Gaza war not yet over
We have some comments from Marco Rubio made during an interview with the NBC TV network.
The US secretary of state said the war has not yet ended despite the steps taken in recent days after the announcement of Trump’s Gaza plan.
“We will know very quickly whether Hamas is serious or not by how these technical talks go in terms of the logistics,” Rubio told NBC’s Meet the Press programme about the release of the captives who are held in Gaza, repeating that the US wants them freed as soon as possible.
He also said the second phase of Trump’s plan, in which disarmament and demobilisation will be discussed, will not be easy.
“That’s going to be hard,” Rubio said.
Rubio says finalising details but no deal guaranteed
We have more lines from the US secretary of state, who earlier emphasised the war is not yet over:
- We are the closest we have been in a very long time to having no captives held by Hamas.
- We don’t know the timeline, but this cannot take weeks or even multiple days. We want to see this happen very fast.
- Ninety percent of the plan has been worked out. We are working out the logistics.
- We are hoping it will be finalised very quickly, early this week.
- No one can tell you it is a 100 percent guarantee.
Israel says no ceasefire in Gaza yet
The Israeli government spokesperson says there is no ceasefire taking effect in Gaza right now, but just a temporary halt to some of the bombing. The spokesperson added that the army could continue operations in Gaza for defensive purposes.
Israeli negotiators will leave for talks in Egypt tonight, and negotiations for the release of the captives expected to begin tomorrow.
Defensive purposes... Isn't the whole genocide in 'self-defense'...
That's been the mantra since the start, Israel's right to self-defense. Bullshit.
