U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that war in Gaza has not yet ended despite Israel and Hamas both agreeing to parts of President Donald Trump’s plan for the strip, as Gazans called for its quick implementation to end their suffering.

“We will know very quickly whether Hamas is serious or not by how these technical talks go in terms of the logistics,” Rubio told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” about the release of hostages from Gaza.

Hamas had drawn a welcoming response from Trump on Friday by saying it accepted certain key parts of his 20-point proposal, including ending the war, Israel’s withdrawal, and the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian captives.

But the group left some issues up for further negotiation at talks in Egypt, as well as questions unanswered, such as whether it would be willing to disarm, a key demand from Israel to end the war.

Israeli negotiators will leave for Egypt tonight and negotiations on the release of the hostages are expected to begin on Monday, the day before the war’s second anniversary, said an Israeli government spokesperson.

A Hamas delegation, led by the group’s exiled Gaza chief, Khalil Al-Hayya, was also expected to land in Cairo later on Sunday, to join representatives of the United States and Qatar for talks over the implementation of the most advanced effort yet to halt the conflict.

RETURN OF HOSTAGES

Under Trump’s plan, all Israeli hostages, alive and deceased, would be released. Israel says 48 hostages remain, 20 of whom are alive.

Trump said on Friday he believed Hamas had shown it was “ready for a lasting PEACE” and he called on Netanyahu’s government to halt airstrikes in Gaza.

Israel began attacking Gaza after the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel in which some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed and 251 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel’s campaign, which has killed more than 67,000 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to Gaza health authorities, has led to its international isolation.

Aside from assassinating Hamas’ top leaders since the war started, Israel has also targeted other regional allies of Iran such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah and killed top Iranian commanders.

Hezbollah said on Sunday that it supported Hamas’ stance, in coordination with Palestinian factions, with regard to Trump’s Gaza plan.