Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to “open the gates of hell” in Gaza if Hamas fails to release all hostages, emphasizing a coordinated U.S.-Israeli effort against the Palestinian militant group.
“We have a common strategy, and we can’t always share the details of this strategy with the public, including when the gates of hell will be opened, as they surely will if all our hostages are not released until the last one,” Netanyahu said during a joint statement with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Netanyahu reaffirmed Israel’s commitment to dismantling Hamas, stating, “We will eliminate Hamas’s military capability and its political rule in Gaza. We will bring all our hostages home, and we will ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel.”
He also praised U.S. support, saying, “The unequivocal support of the United States on Gaza will help us achieve these objectives faster and set us on a path for a different future.”
Netanyahu revealed that he and Rubio discussed U.S. President Donald Trump’s “bold vision for Gaza’s future and will work to ensure that vision becomes a reality.”
Trump recently proposed that the U.S. take control of Gaza and transform it into a “Riviera of the Middle East” while relocating its two million Palestinian residents to other countries, including Egypt and Jordan. The plan has sparked global controversy.
Rubio acknowledged the backlash, admitting that Trump’s proposal “may have shocked and surprised” many. However, he defended the approach, stating, “The president’s also been very bold about his view of what the future for Gaza should be, not the same tired ideas of the past, but something that’s bold and something that, frankly, took courage and vision.”
He stressed the need for change, saying, “What cannot continue is the same cycle where we repeat over and over again and wind up in the exact same place. Hamas cannot continue as a military or a government force… they must be eliminated… it must be eradicated.”
Rubio concluded by emphasizing Trump’s top priority: securing the release of hostages taken during Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack. “They need to come home, they need to be released,” he said.
