U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the 58th meeting of foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and related meetings at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, July 10, 2025. (Credit: Mandel Ngan/AFP)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday he was "hopeful" that a cease-fire agreement could be reached in the Gaza Strip. "We are hopeful. I mean, ultimately, we hope they will move to proximity talks," Rubio told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of Southeast Asian countries in Kuala Lumpur.
He warned, however, that "we have seen negotiations fail at this stage of talks before." "I think we are getting closer, and I think we may be closer than we have been in a long time, and we are full of hope, but we also recognize that there are still challenges to overcome," he said. He specifically cited "Hamas' refusal to disarm, which would end this conflict immediately," while, according to him, Israel has "shown some flexibility."
Hamas said Thursday it opposed a truce agreement that would maintain an Israeli military presence in Gaza, while agreeing to release 10 hostages held in the Palestinian territory where bombings have killed dozens of people, according to rescuers. After 21 months of war, difficult negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement, mediated by Qatar, the United States and Egypt, continued for a fifth consecutive day in Doha.
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