Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared Friday that coordinating a cease-fire in Gaza is “a historic mission,” as the United States and its international partners work to sustain the truce, deliver humanitarian aid and prepare for a multinational peacekeeping force to enter the territory.

At a press conference convened at the U.S.–Israel Civil-Military Coordination Center in southern Israel — the hub overseeing the cease-fire in Gaza — Rubio described the emerging effort as the centerpiece of America’s strategy. He warned the implementation “is not going to be a linear journey. There’s going to be ups and downs and twists and turns.” But he added: “I think we have a lot of reason for healthy optimism about the progress that’s being made.”

Rubio said the State Department and affiliated agencies are increasing their presence at the coordination center, and the staffing will continue to grow to “provide personnel on things like emergency response and the coordination of humanitarian assistance.” The focus, he said, remains on the initial phase of the cease-fire plan.

“We’ve got to get through the process that we’re involved in right now, which is making sure the cease-fire holds without anything disrupting it, making sure people are getting the life-sustaining aid that they need in a way that’s not being looted or stolen or diverted in any way, and at the same time, creating the conditions for the [International] Stabilization Force to come in as soon as it possibly can be put together to provide the stabilization we need to move to the further phases of this plan,” Rubio said.

He issued a warning about the volatility in Gaza: “On the other side of that yellow line,” he said, referring to areas from which the IDF withdrew under the cease-fire, “there is still a terrorist group that remains armed, and we’ve seen them take actions against their own population.” Rubio urged greater media attention to Hamas’s actions against Palestinians in Gaza, saying: “That’s something to point to.”

Asked whether Israel would need U.S. “permission” to resume fighting Hamas if it re-arms, Rubio replied: “I don’t think this has to do anything with permission or anything of that nature. This has to do with basically, we’re all committed to making this plan work. 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 is on the way to success.” He repeatedly emphasized that the U.S. cease-fire plan benefits from broad regional support and is the “only” viable option.

On the question of Hamas’s disarmament, Rubio stressed: “If Hamas refuses to demilitarize, it’ll be a violation of the agreement, and that’ll have to be enforced. I’m not going to get into the mechanisms by which it is going to be enforced, but it’ll have to be enforced.” He added: “This is a deal, and a deal requires conditions to be met. Israel has met their commitments. They’re standing at the yellow line, and that is contingent upon the demilitarization.”

Rubio acknowledged the long timeline ahead. “Hamas disarmament and the demilitarization of Gaza under the second phase of the deal is a long-term project,” he said. “We want to help create the conditions here so that people in Gaza don’t have to be terrorized by Hamas and in fact, have lives, jobs, businesses, and a better future.”

The coming weeks will test whether the truce holds and whether Washington’s vision for the force gains traction in the region.

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