Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke at a press gaggle at the Civil Military Coordination Center (CMCC) facility, "This is an impressive place. This is the journey to get through the 21-point plan. I am here to get an understanding of the needs. We are starting to see more of the US military presence. A lot of progress is being made."
"This process involves that on the other side of the yellow line there is a still a terrorist group that is brutalizing Palestinians. That is something to point to. In addition to that, we have to focus on points that shouldn't derail the entire process. We have to coordinate between many organizations around the world. This is a massive undertaking."
"Behind the yellow line, the areas are safe, secure. We have to ensure an international force, we have to see what it will look like, we have to get the right international mandate, to ensure that that entity can exist, is funded. Then is the rebuilding, so that we will never see again October 7th. That's a longer term plan. But before we can get to that goal we have to ensure that we secure a ceasefire, while creating conditions to provide stabilization in the area."
"We are very committed to Israel's security. We want to ensure that there is no Gaza that is a risk to Israel. We want people to live in Gaza without Hamas, so that they won't be terrorized by Hamas."
"Hamas will be fully demilitarized. That is the agreement they signed on. We don't want to see any threats coming out against Israel from the areas where Hamas is still in control."
"Israel should have received all its live and dead hostages within 72 hours - we are going to ensure that this is going to happen. If not it's a breach of the agreement. There is a lot of work to be done here. All the countries who are part of this, agree that Hamas has to commit to its side of the agreement. There are still terrorists in Gaza, behind that yellow line. This is a long-term plan. The progress that has been made in 14 days, there is nothing to compare this to. This is very difficult, but will be something historic. It will change Israel's security. There are going to be bumps along the road, but we are committed to making it work."
Rubio also referred to the initiative to establish an international task force in Gaza and noted that the list of countries that will participate in it has not yet been formulated. "I will not reveal the list, but there are many countries that want to take part," he said, "However, many gaps must be closed, such as what the mandate of the force is, what its authority is, who will be responsible for it and what are its sources of funding." He emphasized that "this force must be one that is acceptable to Israel."