Rubio: "There is no Plan B" for Trump Middle East deal VIDEO

24 October 2025 16:50

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said there is no alternative to President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan, expressing “healthy optimism” that it will be fully implemented.

“There is no Plan B. This is the best plan. It’s the only plan. It’s one that we think can succeed. It’s one that we believe it’s on the way to success, as impossible and unimaginable as it may have been,” Caliber.Az quotes Rubio as saying.

Speaking at the Civil-Military Coordination Centre (CMCC) in Kiryat Gat, Israel, on October 24, he also highlighted the recent release of hostages, noting, “Remember a month ago, six weeks ago, no one would have thought possible that you were going to get all the hostages out. And I know that we still have the remains of hostages. That has to happen. That’s part of this. And we’re very committed to making sure that happens.”

Rubio said the United States would continue to push until “all the commitments that were made here are kept,” including the demilitarisation of Hamas in Gaza.

“I think we have a lot to be proud of in the first 10 days, 11 days, 12 days of implementation, where we have faced real challenges along the way, including over the weekend, but also an exciting opportunity,” he said. “There’s going to be ups and downs and twists and turns. But I think we have a lot of reason for healthy optimism about the progress that’s being made.”

The Secretary of State stressed that the plan had been endorsed by dozens of countries and would be implemented in close coordination with Israel. “A deal requires conditions to be met,” he said. “Israel’s met their commitments. They’re standing at the Yellow Line.”

He added, “On the other side of that Yellow Line, there is still a terrorist group that remains armed. And we’ve seen them take actions against their own population. I think it’s important, by the way, that there be more media coverage given to the fact that Hamas has brutalised Palestinians, has brutalised Gazans over the last few days.”

The CMCC, opened on October 17 by U.S. Central Command, is described as the “main coordination hub for Gaza assistance.” It is designed to support stabilisation efforts without deploying American forces into Gaza, instead facilitating humanitarian, logistical, and security support from international partners.

Rubio said he visited the centre “to get a sense of the workflow, get a sense of the organisation and get a sense of the needs,” adding that coordinating humanitarian assistance “is a massive undertaking” involving international organisations and charities.

He concluded: “It’ll be historic if it can be pulled off. [The Trump deal] will change Israel’s security in the long term. It will change the character and the nature of the region in a positive way. We are committed to making that work, and we’re committed to ensuring that every one of these points is lived up to."