Rubio, en route to Qatar, warns of ‘short window’ to secure Gaza ceasefire

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio hails Qatar for mediation successful the aftermath of Israel’s brazen onslaught successful Doha.

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has told reporters that Qatar is the lone state to mediate an extremity to Israel’s warfare connected Gaza, arsenic helium departed Israel connected his mode to the Qatari capital, wherever Gulf states connected Monday pledged to activate the associated defence pact arsenic Arab and Islamic leaders stood successful solidarity pursuing Israel’s brazen onslaught connected the Hamas enactment wrong the country.

En way to Doha connected Tuesday, Rubio told reporters that Qatar’s mediation efforts beryllium connected whether they inactive privation to beryllium progressive pursuing the Israeli attack, which the Gulf federation called “cowardly and treacherous”.

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“We privation them to cognize that if there’s immoderate state successful the satellite that could assistance extremity this done a negotiation, it’s Qatar,” helium said.

But, Rubio warned that clip was getting shorter to unafraid a woody arsenic Israel intensified its pulverising onslaught connected Gaza City, sidesplitting dozens successful the municipality centre regular and destroying galore residential buildings, arsenic it pushes guardant with plans to prehend the territory.

“The Israelis person begun to instrumentality operations there. So we deliberation we person a precise abbreviated model of clip successful which a woody tin happen. We don’t person months immoderate more, and we astir apt person days and possibly a fewer weeks to go,” Rubio said.

“Our fig 1 prime is that this ends done a negotiated colony wherever Hamas says, ‘We’re going to demilitarise, we’re nary longer going to airs a threat,'” repeating his stance connected Monday successful Israel that the Palestinian radical needed to “cease to exist”.

Smoke rises from Gaza aft an explosion, arsenic seen from Israel [File: Amir Cohen/Reuters]

Rubio’s sojourn to Qatar comes astatine a captious clip of friction successful the aftermath of the Israeli attack.

On Monday, Rubio affirmed the US’s unwavering support for Israel astatine a quality league successful West Jerusalem with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Later that day, aft Netanyahu refused to regularisation retired different onslaught connected Qatar to assassinate the Hamas leaders, US President Donald Trump insisted successful the Oval Office that “he [Netanyahu] won’t beryllium doing that again”.

Still, Rubio told reporters that the US and Qatar person a “close partnership”.

“In fact, we person an enhanced defence practice agreement, which we’ve been moving on, we’re connected the verge of finalising,” helium said.

Israeli onslaught connected Qatar

In an exigency summit successful Doha connected Monday, the leaders from Arab and Muslim countries pledged successful a associated connection to instrumentality enactment to forestall Israel from its attacks connected Palestinians.

The connection besides urged states to reappraisal “diplomatic and economical relations with it [Israel], and initiate ineligible proceedings against it”.

But arsenic the acme condemned the onslaught wrong Qatar and Rubio claimed determination was not overmuch clip for a ceasefire deal, attacks rang retired passim the Gaza Strip successful the aboriginal hours of Tuesday.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Gaza City’s cardinal municipality hub was “on fire”.

“We volition not relent, and we volition not backmost down until the ngo is accomplished,” Katz said.

At slightest 24 Palestinians were killed connected Tuesday morning, and much were wounded successful Israeli aerial attacks crossed Gaza, the Wafa quality bureau reported. The bulk of those casualties were women and children.