Rubio Says ‘Time Is Running Out’ for Gaza Deal

Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned on Tuesday that “time is running out” for a negotiated end to the war in Gaza.

He spoke minutes before departing Israel for Qatar, and just as Israel was launching a military assault on the Gazan capital that it says is meant to end Hamas’ hold on the city. It is unclear if Mr. Rubio knew at the time that the full offensive had begun, but Israel has been signaling for weeks that it would start soon.

“We don’t have months anymore, and we probably have days and maybe a few weeks,” to reach a deal that would stop the fighting and free hostages held by Hamas, Mr. Rubio told reporters in Israel. “It’s a key moment.”

Mr. Rubio’s Middle East trip came amid a diplomatic storm around the new Israeli offensive, which had already drawn sharp criticism from major European and Arab states while still in the planning stages. On Tuesday, he also had to reckon with Qatar’s reaction to a Sept. 9 Israeli airstrike that had targeted Hamas officials in that country.

He met Tuesday with Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who has accused Israel of “sabotaging” the cease-fire and hostage-release negotiations with Hamas in Doha.

An official readout of Mr. Rubio’s meeting from a State Department spokesman made no mention either of Israel’s strike or the Gaza City offensive. Mr. Rubio “reaffirmed the strong bilateral relationship between the United States and Qatar, and thanked Qatar for its efforts to end the war in Gaza and bring all hostages home,” the spokesman, Tommy Pigott, said. “The Secretary reiterated America’s strong support for Qatar’s security and sovereignty, and discussed our shared commitment to a safer, more stable region.”

There was no immediate statement from the Qatari government about the meeting.

Mr. Rubio left Qatar after his brief visit and was headed to Britain, where he was meeting President Trump for his state visit there.

On Monday, Mr. Rubio met in Jerusalem with Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. The men discussed the imminent Gaza City operation, which analysts say is likely to prolong the war and could endanger the hostages. In remarks to reporters on Monday, Mr. Rubio gave no sign that he had urged Mr. Netanyahu not to proceed with the assault, even though President Trump has repeatedly said he is impatient for a deal to end the fighting quickly.

Speaking alongside Mr. Rubio on Monday, Mr. Netanyahu vowed to “defeat” Hamas, and said little about the state of peace negotiations. While reiterating Mr. Trump’s desire for a negotiated cease-fire, Mr. Rubio warned that “we also have to be prepared for the possibility that that’s not going to happen” — a more somber public assessment than most from senior U.S. officials since the war began.

Even before Israel launched its full offensive on Gaza City, which is likely to further alienate Arab states already angry over the death toll in Gaza, Mr. Rubio’s trip to Qatar was a potentially awkward one.

He arrived there just days after the Israeli airstrike that targeted a residential compound in the capital, Doha, where Hamas leaders were meeting, killing several people affiliated with Hamas as well as a member of Qatar’s internal security forces. Hamas insists that the senior leaders targeted by Israel survived; Israel says it is still assessing the outcome.

Mr. Netanyahu’s critics say the attack on Hamas operatives who have been the group’s point of contact for peace negotiations proved that he was sabotaging prospects for a deal.

In addition, Qatar and its Arab neighbors called the strike a shocking violation of sovereignty and an insult to the country’s peacemaking efforts. Qatar has played a vital role as an intermediary between Israel and Hamas.

An oil-and-gas-rich Gulf emirate, Qatar is also an important U.S. partner. It is home to the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East, regularly assists American diplomacy, and has aggressively courted the favor of Mr. Trump. In April, Mr. Trump accepted as a gift from Qatar’s ruler a 747 jetliner worth an estimated $200 million for use as a new Air Force One.

Mr. Rubio has appeared disinclined to choose sides in the furor over Israel’s strike. In a Monday interview with Fox News, Mr. Rubio staked out a neutral position and sought to move past it. “We understand they’re upset about it,” he said of the Qataris. “We understand the Israeli position on it.”

Qatar may not be ready to move on, however. A day before Mr. Rubio’s visit, the country hosted an emergency meeting of leaders of Arab and Muslim countries to discuss the Israeli strike.

The Arab leaders stopped short of committing to any tangible action against Israel, but they said each of their states should “review diplomatic and economic relations” with Israel. President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt said Israel’s actions had jeopardized diplomatic ties with the Arab nations that officially recognize the Jewish state, and the chances of formal relations with the states that do not.

At the news conference in Jerusalem on Monday, Mr. Netanyahu defiantly rejected criticism of the strike, saying that it had sent a clear message to Israel’s enemies that they could not hide from his country’s retribution, even within the borders of nations seeming to offer them “immunity.”

Standing next to Mr. Netanyahu, Mr. Rubio pledged America’s “unwavering support” for Israel’s campaign against Hamas, and did not repeat Mr. Trump’s sharp criticism of the Doha strike. Mr. Trump has fumed that he was “very unhappy” about the Israeli attack, saying that it could further complicate his already foundering efforts to broker a cease-fire in Gaza.

Qatar prides itself on its role as a political bridge. It has long allowed Hamas political officials to live in Doha, with U.S. support, and has hosted countless indirect negotiations between them and Israeli officials.

The strike was a “a humiliating blow” for Qatar, Tamir Hayman, the executive director of the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University, wrote last week. He added that it had “shaken” the tiny nation’s assumption that its partnership with the United States guaranteed its security.

Mr. Trump says that he was not aware of the Israeli attack until the last moment, and Mr. Netanyahu reiterated on Monday that it was “a wholly independent decision by Israel.”

Speaking to reporters in New Jersey on Sunday, Mr. Trump seemed to warn Israel against a repeat, saying the country must be “very, very careful” toward Qatar, which he called a “great ally” of the United States.