Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the attack on the Hamas headquarters in the Qatari capital of Doha “legitimate” and raised the possibility of strikes against the group's leaders “wherever they may be.” The statement was made at a press conference following talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who visited Israel, Euronews reports.

He also assured that the Israeli army's offensive, which began in the enclave last month, would continue until complete control was established.

Netanyahu, without providing evidence, also claimed that militants are preventing civilians from leaving the city and “shooting them in the legs.”

According to Hamas, since August 11, after the IDF began its operation to capture Gaza, at least 350,000 Palestinians have left their homes, and 1,600 residential buildings and 13,000 tents have been destroyed.

“As much as we would like to see a peaceful, diplomatic way to end this, and we will continue to explore that and pursue that, we also have to be prepared for the possibility that it may not happen,” Rubio said, calling Hamas “barbaric terrorists.”