(MENAFN) U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday that Washington’s alliance with Israel remains unchanged, despite Tel Aviv’s controversial airstrike in Qatar that targeted members of Hamas.

“Obviously, we were not happy about it; the president was not happy about it,” Rubio told reporters ahead of his diplomatic trip to Britain and Israel.

The strike, launched on Tuesday, hit a residential complex in Doha where top Hamas officials were reportedly meeting with a Qatari security officer to discuss a U.S.-backed ceasefire proposal. The attack left six people dead, including five Hamas members and one Qatari official.

“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 diplomatic efforts to reach a truce in war-torn Gaza,” Rubio added.

Since the start of Israeli military operations in Gaza in October 2023, more than 64,000 people have been killed, according to local health authorities.

Qatar, along with the United States and Egypt, has been a key mediator in truce negotiations aimed at ending the devastating conflict.

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