Israel’s defence minister said on Tuesday that “Gaza is burning” after heavy strikes overnight targeted Gaza City.
Israel Katz’s remarks come as the country’s military has been planning a new offensive targeting Gaza City.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio, speaking to journalists while leaving Israel for Qatar, suggested the offensive had begun.
He said: “The Israelis have begun to take operations there. So 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 ago.”
“Our number one choice is that this ends through a negotiated settlement where Hamas says: ‘We’re going to demilitarise, we’re no longer going to pose a threat,’” the US secretary of state told reporters.
“Sometimes when you’re dealing with a group of savages like Hamas, that’s not possible, but we hope it can happen,” he said.
The Israeli military has not responded to questions for hours over whether the offensive had begun.
Marco Rubio speaks to the press as he departs Tel Aviv for Qatar. Photograph: NATHAN HOWARD/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Both prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Mr Rubio said on Monday the only way to end the conflict in Gaza is through the elimination of Hamas and the release of the remaining 48 hostages – with around 20 believed to be alive – setting aside calls for an interim ceasefire in favour of an immediate end to the conflict.
Hamas has said it will only free the remaining hostages in return for Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on October 7th, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251.
Most of the hostages have since been released in ceasefires brokered in part by Qatar or other deals.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 64,871 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-controlled health ministry, which does not say how many were civilians or combatants.
The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals, says women and children make up around half the dead. – Agencies