Marco Rubio praises Trump’s ‘extraordinary phone calls’ for securing Israel-Hamas peace deal

WASHINGTON, DC: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday that President Donald Trump’s “extraordinary phone calls” and meetings with Arab leaders were instrumental in clinching the ceasefire and hostage release agreement between Israel and Hamas.

Rubio said Trump’s personal engagement with regional counterparts demonstrated an “unusual degree of intensity and commitment” that helped break months of deadlock.

“President Trump had some extraordinary phone calls and meetings that required a high degree of intensity and commitment, and made this happen,” Rubio said during a Cabinet meeting at the White House.

Marco Rubio says UN Meeting marked turning point in Gaza deal

Marco Rubio credited the United Nations General Assembly meeting last month as the turning point in the negotiations. He said Trump’s presentation to Arab and Muslim leaders during the session unified countries that had previously been divided over the Gaza conflict.

“You convened a historic meeting, not simply of Arab countries, but of Muslim-majority countries from around the world. Indonesia was there, Pakistan was there and created this coalition behind this plan,” Rubio told Trump.

He added that Trump’s follow-up meeting with the Israeli Prime Minister the following Monday helped solidify the framework that eventually became the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

Rubio also praised Special Envoy Steve Wiktoff and Senior Adviser Jared Kushner for their behind-the-scenes diplomacy in finalizing the agreement.

“They’re an incredible team working together, facing some substantial impediments to even being there this weekend and doing it,” Rubio said.

Trump says Hamas disarmament and pullback are key to lasting peace

President Trump projected optimism that unresolved issues in the Gaza ceasefire deal would soon be resolved, emphasizing that Hamas’ disarmament and Israel’s phased military pullback are central to securing lasting stability.

“There will be disarming, there will be pullbacks, there will be a lot of things happening,” Trump said, referring to the next phase of the agreement. “I think it will take place, and I think you can end up with peace in the Middle East.”

He reiterated that securing the release of hostages was his administration’s top priority. “We weren’t going to do it at the end…we’re going to do it at the beginning,” Trump said.

Trump said he plans to travel to Egypt next week to attend the formal signing ceremony of the Israel-Hamas agreement. He expressed “tremendous gratitude” to Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey for mediating the deal.

“I think it’s going to be a lasting peace, hopefully an everlasting peace,” Trump said. “We secured the release of all of the remaining hostages, and they should be released on Monday or Tuesday.”

Announcing the peace deal, Trump had posted on Truth Social, “I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan. This means that ALL of the hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw its troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a strong, durable and everlasting Peace.”