U.S. Secretary of State and former Florida senator Marco Rubio declared on Sunday that the war in Gaza has “not yet” ended and that retrieving hostages from Hamas remains the top priority, according to Reuters. Rubio told NBC’s Meet the Press that Hamas had “basically” agreed to the framework of a U.S.-brokered deal to free Israeli hostages, suggesting Israel would pause its attacks only in exchange for those captives’ release (Reuters). His remarks insisted that Israel’s military should continue after Israeli hostages are released. Rubio described the next phase of Gaza’s future as “even harder” and including the challenge of establishing a “Palestinian technocratic leadership that’s not Hamas” (Reuters). Here, Rubio echoes Israeli government talking points as he advocates for prolonging Gaza’s suffering. 

Nearly two years into the genocide, the human toll in Gaza is staggering. Over 67,000 Palestinians have been murdered in the Gaza Strip since October 2023, roughly one-third of them children, reports Reuters. However, the official death toll is likely much higher when accounting for deaths due to forced starvation by Israel and bodies still trapped under rubble, according to Al Jazeera. Over 2.1 million Palestinians in Gaza have endured acute shortages of food, clean water, medicine, and electricity under Israel’s ongoing siege. A global hunger monitor confirmed that famine has taken hold in Gaza City and is spreading (Reuters).

Despite the growing international outcry, the United States has repeatedly impeded efforts to end the genocide. In late September, Washington vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution that demanded an “immediate, unconditional and permanent humanitarian ceasefire” in Gaza and lifting all of Israel’s aid restrictions (Reuters). The U.S., casting its sixth veto on Gaza in the past two years, stood alone in opposition to the peace agreement, which would have returned all hostages held by Hamas. The veto is reflected in Rubio’s remarks, rejecting any notion of an immediate comprehensive ceasefire. Meanwhile, the United States continues to materially enable Israel’s war. According to a Brown University Costs of War study, the U.S. has provided over $21 billion in military aid to Israel since October 2023 (Al Jazeera). From precision munitions to missile defense support, “US support for Israel at all levels is indispensable to the prosecution of Israel’s war in Gaza and across the region,” notes Middle East analyst Omar Rahman (Al Jazeera).

Palestinian civil society voices are calling the Gaza genocide a continuation of historic injustice. “Palestinians have endured over two years of horror after horror and war crime after war crime,” said Mohamed Duar, Amnesty International’s spokesperson for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, referencing the period of all-out war since 2023. “Now the time has come for justice for Palestinians. Those responsible must face trial and be held to account. No one is above the law. The unlawful occupation of the Palestinian Territory and the apartheid regime must come to an end” (Amnesty International). This perspective reflects a wider consensus among Palestinian human rights groups. Any halt to the fighting must be coupled with addressing the root causes: Israel’s 56-year military occupation, the blockade of Gaza, and the apartheid system of entrenched inequality.

As entire families in Gaza are being wiped out by airstrikes and forced starvation, U.S. leaders like Rubio persist in framing the genocide as a binary fight against terrorism that “is not over.” The Organization for World Peace emphasizes that there is no military solution to this crisis, and a peaceful, rights-respecting alternative is urgently needed. That begins with an immediate ceasefire to halt the loss of lives. It also requires confronting the broader context of the conflict: ending the occupation, blockade, and dispossessions of the Palestinian people. “For any lasting ceasefire agreement to succeed it must be firmly rooted in respect for human rights and international law and must include an immediate stop to [Israel’s] genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, as well as concrete steps to end [Israel’s] unlawful occupation… and to dismantle the system of apartheid,” Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard has urged (Amnesty International). The United States faces a choice: continue enabling Israel or use its influence and economic leverage to press for an immediate ceasefire and diplomatic resolution.