During Marco Rubio’s end-of-year press conference, a reporter raised a simple question about the Israel-Gaza war. If Trump brokered a ceasefire, why are Palestinian children still dying? But Rubio’s answer was a masterclass in how to praise a deal while admitting it’s a failure.
On Friday, Dec. 19, Secretary of State Marco Rubio faced a question the administration has been carefully avoiding. If President Trump successfully negotiated a ceasefire in Gaza, why does Israel appear to be ignoring it? Despite the agreement Trump has repeatedly touted as a diplomatic triumph, Israel has continued military operations in Gaza.
According to the journalist, an average of two Palestinian children are killed per day, and humanitarian aid is still blocked. This means that the Israelis are flouting the ceasefire that President Trump negotiated. So, he hopefully asked Rubio, “How long can this continue? How long can the Israelis be allowed to show such disrespect to President Trump?”
But as expected, Rubio’s response began with a dodge. “That’s your characterization of the term ‘disrespect,’” he said. He objected not to the facts presented but to the implication that Israel’s actions constitute “disrespect” toward Trump. From there, he pivoted quickly to the administration’s preferred framing of the ceasefire being a “miracle” itself.
Israel’s Gaza ceasefire violation is because of Hamas, Rubio says
The miracle isn’t that violence has stopped, because it hasn’t. For Rubio, it’s that an agreement existed at all. But what good does that agreement do if children are still dying? Rubio conveniently described the deal as extraordinarily difficult and emphasized that hostilities had largely ended “for the most part.”
He also insisted that the remaining deaths, bombings, and aid blockages were unfortunate complications. In short, he doesn’t take responsibility for them. On top of it, he justified Israel’s violation of the ceasefire by redirecting attention to Hamas. Rubio detailed threats to Israeli soldiers and framed Israel’s continued strikes as security responses rather than violations.
On the other hand, Gaza’s humanitarian collapse is something to be managed later through technocratic governance, according to him. The journalist then followed up with the obvious problem: Why would any international force agree to operate in Gaza if Israel is effectively treating it as a free-fire zone? But Rubio again declined to engage the premise. He gave a fancy speech instead, insisting that Diplomacy takes time, compliance requires “nurturing,” and nothing happens overnight.
Throughout the exchange, Rubio never disputed the civilian death toll. He never denied the aid restrictions or claimed Israel was fully complying. Instead, he objected to the tone of the question and rephrased ongoing violence as growing pains. He also insisted that constant intervention by U.S. officials proves success rather than the opposite. And with this, Rubio managed to celebrate Trump’s deal, admit it isn’t being followed, and absolve the party of violating it, all at once.
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