WASHINGTON: Israel needs to stop bombing Gaza for the hostage release by militant group Hamas to take place, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said 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.