The United States is "not happy" about Israeli strikes targeting Hamas in Qatar, but the attack will not change Washington's allied status with Israel, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday as he departed for the region.

Tuesday's air strikes -- the first by Israel against US ally Qatar -- have rocked the region and put huge strain on diplomatic efforts to bring about a truce in war-ravaged Gaza.

"What's happened has happened. Obviously, we were not happy about it, the president was not happy about it," Rubio told reporters shortly before departing Washington for discussions with officials in Israel.

"It's not going to change the nature of our relationship with the Israelis, but we are going to have to talk about it -- primarily, what impact does this have" on the truce efforts,

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