Trump says Netanyahu 'won't be hitting' Qatar again

US President Donald Trump insisted Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would not strike Qatar again, after an attack on Hamas last week that infuriated Washington's Gulf ally.

"He won't be hitting in Qatar," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, after Netanyahu failed to rule out further strikes during a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Tuesday that Hamas had only days to accept a ceasefire deal, as Israel bombarded Gaza City.

"The Israelis have begun to take operations there. So we think we have a very short window of time in which a deal can happen. We don't have months anymore, and we probably have days and maybe a few weeks to go," Rubio told reporters as he flew out of Israel for mediator Qatar.

"Our number one choice is that this ends through a negotiated settlement where Hamas says, 'We're going to demilitarise, we're no longer going to pose a threat,'" Rubio said.

"Sometimes when you're dealing with a group of savages like Hamas, that's not possible, but we hope it can happen," Rubio said.

Rubio met with Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Monday, giving his backing to the Israeli Prime Minister's new offensive in Gaza City and its stated goal of eradicating Hamas.

Witnesses later told AFP that the city was under heavy bombardment.