US Warns Hamas Has Only ‘Days’ to Accept Ceasefire as Israel Pounds Gaza City

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Monday that Hamas had only days to accept a ceasefire deal, as Israel launched a fierce new offensive on Gaza City, where witnesses told AFP of heavy bombardment.

Speaking to reporters as he departed Israel for mediator Qatar, Rubio cautioned that “we don’t have months anymore, and we probably have days and maybe a few weeks to go” to secure a negotiated settlement.

“Our number one choice is that this ends through a negotiated settlement where Hamas says, ‘We’re going to demilitarize, we’re no longer going to pose a threat,’” he said. But he added, “Sometimes when you’re dealing with a group of savages like Hamas, that’s not possible.”

Rubio met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Monday, offering robust backing for Israel’s new Gaza City offensive aimed at eliminating Hamas. He also met with families of hostages, acknowledging that Hamas’s leverage lay in its continued captivity of dozens of Israelis.

Israel’s Defense Minister, Israel Katz, declared early Tuesday that Gaza was “on fire” and vowed that the military “will not relent and we will not back down until the mission is accomplished.”

The Israeli army said it was striking “terrorist infrastructure,” while residents told AFP of relentless bombing across Gaza City, much of which has already been reduced to rubble since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel.

Local civil defense officials said Israeli strikes also targeted Khan Yunis in the south, killing 49 people on Monday. AFP noted it could not independently verify those figures due to severe reporting restrictions in Gaza.

Rubio, meanwhile, emphasized the importance of Qatar’s mediation despite Israeli air strikes there last week against Hamas leaders. “If there’s any country in the world that could help end this through a negotiation, it’s Qatar,” he said.

The escalation comes days before France is set to host a UN summit where several Western nations, frustrated with Israel’s stance, are expected to recognize Palestinian statehood. Rubio dismissed the move as “largely symbolic,” while Netanyahu warned of unspecified unilateral measures in response.

Far-right members of Netanyahu’s cabinet have openly called for annexation of the occupied West Bank, drawing rare protests from the United Arab Emirates, which normalized ties with Israel five years ago.

In a related development, United Nations investigators said Tuesday they had concluded that Israel has committed “genocide” in Gaza since October 2023, with what they described as “intent to destroy the Palestinians” in the enclave, according to AFP.

Navi Pillay, chair of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Palestinian territories, told AFP that “genocide is occurring in Gaza and is continuing to occur, and the responsibility lies with the State of Israel.”

The commission’s report further alleged that Israeli leaders — including President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant — had incited genocide, and accused Israeli authorities of failing to act against such incitement.

The October 7 Hamas attacks killed 1,219 people in Israel, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures. Of the 251 hostages seized, Israel says 47 remain in Gaza, including 25 believed to be dead.

Israel on Tuesday said it “categorically rejects” the findings of the inquiry. “Israel categorically rejects this distorted and false report and calls for the immediate abolition of this Commission of Inquiry,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.

This article has been updated