At a press conference during the G7 summit in Canada, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned Hamas’s hostage-taking and reiterated the Trump administration’s unwavering demand for the release of all captives.
Rubio’s comments came after Hamas announced its supposed willingness to release the last living American-Israeli hostage, along with the bodies of four other dual nationals. However, Rubio declined to specify whether the Trump administration would accept such a deal. Instead, he emphasized that all hostages must be freed.
“Our priority as the U.S. government is always that we care about all hostages,” Rubio stated. “We want all the hostages released.”
Rubio then echoed earlier remarks by U.S. hostage envoy Adam Boehler, criticizing the lopsided exchanges Israel has been forced into by Hamas.
“They’re ridiculous trades — 400 people for three. These are nuts,” Rubio said, referring to previous hostage releases. “On top of that, you see the condition these people are being released in.”
The Secretary of State denounced the international community’s passive stance on Hamas’s actions, calling the group’s tactics barbaric and unacceptable.
“We’re sitting around as the world, sort of accepting that it’s normal and okay for you to go into a place, kidnap babies, kidnap teenagers, kidnap people who have nothing to do with any wars, that are not soldiers… and taking them and putting them in tunnels for almost a year and a half.”
Rubio slammed the notion that these hostage deals should be considered standard diplomatic exchanges.
“We’re acting like this is a normal exchange… This is an outrage. They should all be released.”
When asked if the administration would accept Hamas’s current offer, Rubio refused to confirm any details. However, he made it clear that the U.S. position remains firm:
“I’m not going to comment on what we’re going to accept or not accept, other than [to say that] all of us — the whole world — should continue to say that what Hamas has done is outrageous, it’s ridiculous, it’s sick, it’s disgusting.”
Rubio concluded with a harsh rebuke of Hamas and its methods:
“We’re just dealing with some savages. That’s it. These are bad people, terrible people, and we need to treat them as such.”
His remarks reinforce the Trump administration’s strong stance against Hamas and its ongoing demand for the release of all remaining hostages.
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