Despite the mounting criticism, Rubio on Monday offered robust backing for the offensive as he met Netanyahu.
“We think we have a very short window of time in which a deal can happen. We don’t have months anymore, and we probably have days and maybe a few weeks to go,” he told reporters as he left Israel.
Rubio said a diplomatic solution in which Hamas demilitarises remained the US preference, although he added: “Sometimes when you’re dealing with a group of savages like Hamas, that’s not possible, but we hope it can happen.”
Before flying out to Qatar, the top US diplomat said he hoped the US ally would keep up its Gaza mediation efforts, despite Israel carrying out air strikes against Hamas leaders gathered in the Gulf country last week to consider a US truce proposal.
“We want them to know that if there’s any country in the world that could help end this through a negotiation, it’s Qatar,” Rubio said.
Rubio’s visit came a week before France was set to lead a UN summit in which a number of Western governments, angered by what they see as Israeli intransigence, plan to recognise a Palestinian state.
Rubio called statehood recognition “largely symbolic”, while Netanyahu – whose government is fervently opposed to such a move – said his country may take unspecified “unilateral steps” in response.
The October 2023 attack by Hamas resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign in Gaza has killed at least 64,964 people, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the territory’s health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.