US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Hamas an “obstacle” and called on the group to disarm and stop stealing aid, which he said was undermining global efforts to support President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan.
“Hamas continues to deprive the people of Gaza of the humanitarian aid they desperately need. This theft undermines international efforts to support President Trump’s 20-point plan to provide critical aid to innocent civilians,” Rubio said on X. He also shared a video from the Pentagon’s Central Command showing Hamas members suspected of stealing food from a truck.
He added: “Hamas is an obstacle. They must lay down their arms and stop looting so that Gaza can have a better future.”
“The U.S. Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) observed suspected Hamas operatives looting a humanitarian aid truck that is part of a humanitarian convoy delivering much-needed aid from international partners to Gazans in northern Khan Younis,” the U.S. Central Command said.
It further claimed that its coordination center became familiar with video surveillance of a US MQ-9 drone flying overhead to monitor the implementation of the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.
“The operators attacked the driver and stole the aid and the truck after moving the driver to the median. The current condition of the driver is unknown. Over the past week, international partners have delivered more than 600 truckloads of commercial goods and aid to Gaza per day. This incident undermines those efforts. The nearly 40 countries and international organizations represented at the CMCC are working together to help the logistical flow of humanitarian aid.”
Israel-Hamas in the middle of a truce
Israel said on Saturday that the remains of three people handed over by Hamas to the Red Cross in Gaza were not those of any hostages, marking the latest setback to a US-brokered truce in the Israel-Hamas conflict, according to the Associated Press. The move came after Israel returned the bodies of 30 Palestinians to Gaza on Friday, completing an exchange after earlier handing over the remains of two hostages. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed the three bodies were not hostages, but their identities remain unknown.
Hamas’s armed wing said it offered to provide samples from the unidentified bodies on Friday, but Israel refused and instead requested the full remains for examination. “We sold the bodies to stop Israel’s claims,” the statement said. Health workers in Gaza faced problems identifying the deceased due to a lack of DNA testing kits, the report said.
The deadliest and most destructive conflict ever between Israel and Hamas began with a Hamas-led attack in 2023 that killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, the AP reported. The subsequent Israeli military campaign left more than 68,600 dead in Gaza, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. Israel has rejected allegations of genocide by the UN Commission of Inquiry and others, disputing the ministry’s death toll figures without offering its own alternative count.
