Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that the U.S. and Qatar are nearing a defense agreement following an Israeli strike targeting Hamas officials in the Qatari capital Doha last week.

Rubio made the remarks ahead of his travel to Qatar, which was announced last-minute while the secretary was already in Israel.

“We have an enhanced defense cooperation agreement which we’ve been working on and we’re on the verge of finalizing,” he told reporters.

Rubio’s travel to Israel came amid strained ties between Israeli Prime MInister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Trump, who has criticized Israel’s decision to strike inside Doha as not in America’s interest.

Qatar has served as the primary mediator between Hamas and Israel over efforts to achieve a ceasefire to nearly two years of war s

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