Marco Rubio visits Israel in aftermath of Qatar strike

Top US diplomat Marco Rubio arrived in Israel Sunday, an AFP journalist reported, after expressing the Trump administration's unwavering support for its ally in the war on Gaza despite a strike in Qatar.

The trip is taking place after US President Donald Trump rebuked Israel over the unprecedented attack against Hamas leaders meeting in an upscale neighbourhood of Doha on Tuesday.

It marked Israel's first such strike against a US ally, Qatar, and has put renewed strain on diplomatic efforts to bring about a truce in Gaza.

Before departing for the region on Saturday, Rubio told reporters that while Trump was "not happy" about the strike, it was "not going to change the nature of our relationship with the Israelis".

But he added that the United States and Israel were "going to have to talk about" its impact on truce efforts.

On Friday, Trump met with Qatar's Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, while Rubio's visit comes as Arab and Muslim leaders are set to meet Monday in Doha to express solidarity with the Gulf state in the aftermath of the Israeli strike.

Israel's strike targeted Hamas leaders gathering to discuss a new ceasefire proposal put forward by the United States.

Netanyahu has defended the operation, saying on Saturday that killing senior Hamas officials would remove the "main obstacle" to ending the war.

In Jerusalem, Rubio will visit the Western Wall with Netanyahu on Sunday, according to the Israeli prime minister's office.

His main meetings with officials, including Netanyahu, will take place on Monday before he departs on Tuesday.

In recent days, Israel has ramped up efforts to occupy Gaza City, the territory's largest urban centre, telling residents to evacuate and blowing up numerous high-rise buildings it claimed were being used by Hamas but without providing any evidence.

As of late August, the UN estimated that around one million people were living in the city and its surrounding areas, where it had declared a famine, which it blamed on Israeli aid restrictions.

AFP images showed a column of vehicles and people on foot fleeing Gaza City southwards through a desolate landscape of destroyed buildings.

Among them was an amputee on crutches, a couple with a newborn baby and a man in a wheelchair carrying a child.