US Secretary of State Marco Rubio departs Israel for Qatar

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio departed Israel for Qatar where he's expected to ask Doha to stay on as mediator in Gaza.  Marco Rubio said Tuesday that only Qatar had the ability to mediate in Gaza, despite an Israeli strike on Hamas in the Gulf country a week ago.

Rubio stated that it was up to the relevant parties to decide whether they wanted to pursue that course of action following the events of the previous week. However, he emphasized that they should understand Qatar could be the one country most capable of helping to resolve the situation through negotiation.