U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he will discuss with Israeli officials how the strike in Qatar targeting Hamas leaders had an impact on negotiations to release hostages and end the war.

"Obviously we were not happy about it. The president was not happy about it. Now we need to move forward and figure out what comes next," Rubio told reporters Saturday before departing to Israel for a two-day visit.

"But we are going to have to talk about it, primarily what impact does this have, what happened, what impact does that have moving forward on what comes next."

Rubio reiterated that U.S. relationship with Israel continues to be "very strong." And that President Donald Trump's priority is to reach an end to the conflict and the release of all hostages.

The Trump administration is walking a delicate line between two major allies after Israel took its fight with Hamas to the Qatari capital, where leaders of the militant group had gathered to consider a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire in the nearly two-year-old war in Gaza.

Qatar is a key mediator, and while its leaders have vowed to press forward, the next steps are uncertain for a long-sought deal to halt the fighting and release hostages taken from Israel.