US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday warned Hamas had only a matter of days to accept a ceasefire agreement, as Israel launched one of its heaviest bombardments yet on Gaza city.

Speaking to reporters while departing Israel for mediator Qatar, Rubio said: “We think we have a very short window of time in which a deal can happen. We donot have months anymore probably days, maybe a few weeks”.

He added that Washington’s preference was for a negotiated settlement under which Hamas would demilitarise, though he acknowledged that “sometimes when you’re dealing with a group of savages like Hamas, that’s not possible”.

Rubio met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Monday, voicing strong support for Israel’s new offensive and its stated aim to eradicating Hamas. On the ground, residents described relentless Israeli strikes.

“There is heavy, relentless bombing in Gaza City and the danger keeps increasing”, said a local witness Ahmed Ghazal. He further added that homes has been destroyed and civilians trapped under rubble.

Gaza civil defense spokesperson Mahmud Bassal told AFP the bombardment was ongoing and that casualties were mounting.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Gaza was “on fire” declaring: “The IDF is striking terrorist infrastructure with an iron fist. We will not relent and we will not back down until the mission is accomplished”.