Washington (AGENCIES)
Israel needs to stop bombing Gaza for the hostage release to take place, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday.
"I think the Israelis and everyone acknowledge you can't release hostages in the middle of strikes, so the strikes will have to stop," Rubio told CBS News talkshow "Face the Nation."
"There can't be a war going on in the middle of it," the top US diplomat said.
In another interview, Rubio said he hopes a deal between Israel and Hamas can be finalized early this week to allow the release of hostages from Gaza.
"All those talks are occurring, even as I speak to you now, we're hoping it will be finalised very quickly, early this week," Rubio told ABC.
"And I'm hoping, you know again, who knows the timeline? But this cannot take weeks or even multiple days. We want to see this happen very fast."