Hamas has “very short window of time” to accept ceasefire deal, says Rubio

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned on Tuesday that Palestinian group Hamas has a “very short deadline” to agree to a ceasefire deal, as ‘Israel’ intensifies its bombardment of Gaza City.

Speaking to reporters as he left Israel for Qatar, Rubio said: “The Israelis have begun operations there (Gaza). So we believe we have a very short window to reach an agreement. We no longer have months; it could be days, or just a few weeks.”

Rubio stressed that Qatar remains the only state capable of mediating over Gaza, despite last week’s Israeli strike in Doha that targeted Hamas leaders.

“It is clear that they (Hamas) have to decide whether they want to do this after what happened last week or not,” he added. “But we want them to know that if there is one country in the world that can help end this through negotiations, it is Qatar.”