Members of the Al-Qassam Brigades and Palestinians waiting for the hand over of the bodies of four late Israeli hostages to the Red Cross, as part of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis, February 20, 2025. (Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)
In an interview on Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States would wipe out a group like Hamas if it were on its own border.
Sitting down with independent journalist Catherine Herridge , Rubio spoke about the first 30 days of the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, his role in the administration, and current issues facing the U.S. government around the world, including the Israel-Hamas war.
The interview was filmed just after the Hamas handover of the hostages’ remains , and before Israel discovered that the fourth body released was not the body of Shiri Bibas , but an unidentified person.
EXCLUSIVE: Our full, unedited interview with Secretary of State Marco Rubio(@SecRubio) on his first 30 days leading the Department.
Restarting U.S./Russia relations following the Biden Administration, direct engagement with Ukraine, U.S. proposal for Gaza, preventing Iranian… pic.twitter.com/cxkHmNZWw0
— Catherine Herridge (@C__Herridge) February 21, 2025
When asked to respond to the release, Rubio stated, “I think it’s a reminder of who Hamas really is. I mean, just think about the fact they went in, they grabbed this family, this young woman, and her two infant children.”
“It’s not just that they did it and that they [the Bibas family] died in their captivity,” Rubio continued. “Who does that? I mean, who kidnaps families?”
Rubio also called attention to the Hamas-staged spectacle during the release.
“And then the way even that they were released, you know, with people cheering in the streets, it just tells you who we’re dealing with with Hamas,” Rubio remarked. “This is not a government. This is not a simply an ideological movement. These are evil, terrible people. And the idea that they would ever be allowed to continue to have arms, to be militarized, and to control territory anywhere in the world is unfathomable.”
After Herridge asked Rubio about Hamas’ strength, given the apparent number of terrorists involved in the release ceremonies, Rubio stated that the group had been weakened despite the apparent show of force.
“They clearly have enough people to still be a threat at some level, but they can’t be allowed to reconstitute,” Rubio stated, affirming the Trump administration’s stance that Hamas cannot remain in Gaza. “Hamas cannot be allowed to once again be a group that can do three things, terrorize the people of Gaza, attack Israel, and actually be a government or anything like a government anywhere in the world. They just can’t be.”
He claimed, “As long as Hamas is in Gaza, there will never be peace in Gaza because they are going to go back to attacking Israel, and Israel is going to have to respond .”
The secretary of state also argued that even the U.S. government would not tolerate a group like Hamas on its border.
“If a group like that was operating on the other side of our border with Canada or Mexico, constantly launching attacks, if a group existed in Mexico that came across our border, kidnapped Americans, babies, and launched rockets, we would eliminate them,” Rubio stated firmly.
“We would wipe them out. No country in the world can coexist alongside a group whose intended purpose is the destruction of your state and is willing to commit atrocities like this in the pursuance of it.”