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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