US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Qatar Tuesday to ask it to stay on as Gaza mediator, hoping to reassure the Gulf ally a week after Israeli air strikes targeted Hamas leaders in the emirate.

Rubio, who landed in Qatar as Israel carried out major new strikes in Gaza, was pessimistic about a ceasefire deal but said Qatar was in a unique position to help.

“We’re going to ask Qatar to continue to do what they’ve done, and we appreciate very much, and that is, play a constructive role in trying to bring this to an end,” Rubio told reporters as he flew out of Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport to Doha.

“Obviously they have to decide if they want to do that after last week or not, but we want them to know that if there’s any country in the world that could help end this through a negotiati

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