By Arpita Ghosh

Copyright timesnownews

Israel’s defence minister said Tuesday that “Gaza is burning” as heavy strikes overnight targeted Gaza City, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicating that an intensive operation may be underway in the Palestinian territory’s largest city. Defence Minister Israel Katz made the comment on social media, describing Israeli forces as striking “with an iron fist at the terrorist infrastructure” and saying soldiers were working to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas. “We will not relent and we will not go back — until the completion of the mission,” he wrote. The remarks came ahead of Rubio’s trip to Qatar, where he is expected to meet officials still angered by an Israeli strike last week that killed five Hamas members and a local security official. Arab and Muslim nations condemned the strike at a regional summit Monday but stopped short of any military response, underscoring the challenges in applying diplomatic pressure on Israel, reports AP. Rubio told reporters the window for a negotiated settlement is shrinking. “Well, as you saw 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,” Rubio said. “We don’ have months anymore, and we probably have days and maybe a few weeks so it’s a key moment — an important moment,” he added. Rubio also said that the preferred outcome remains a negotiated solution but acknowledged the risks of a larger military campaign. Residents reported heavy strikes across Gaza City on Tuesday morning. Shifa Hospital received the bodies of 12 people killed in a strike that hit multiple homes in the city’s west, while another 90 wounded were admitted, according to Dr. Rami Mhanna, the hospital’s managing director. “It was a heavy night,” said Radwan Hayder, a local resident sheltering near the hospital, as per the AP report. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Rubio said on Monday that ending the conflict depends on defeating Hamas and securing the release of remaining hostages, estimated at 48, including about 20 believed to be alive. Hamas has demanded Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire, and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza in exchange for releasing hostages. The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and abducting 251. Since then, Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 64,871 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which reports that roughly half of the dead are women and children.