Israel has agreed to release “some 700-800 Palestinian prisoners” in return for 40 hostages as part of a temporary ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, but Hamas rejected the deal, several Israeli sources said Wednesday.

As Israel’s strongest ally, the United States, has now joined the European Union and the UN in demanding an immediate ceasefire in the war against Hamas, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Monday that Jerusalem has “no moral right” to stop fighting before it has completely dismantled the Palestinian terror group’s capabilities in Gaza, Israel365 News reports.

Israel’s Foreign Minister has condemned the U.S. decision to withhold a veto on a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for “an immediate ceasefire in Gaza,” saying it will make it more difficult to free hostages.

In response to Hezbollah’s missile strikes on the Mount Meron air traffic control base, Israel confirmed it targeted Hezbollah sites Tuesday afternoon near Zboud, Lebanon, and also hit Iranian-linked targets in eastern Syria early Tuesday, aiming at Iranian operatives and assets involved in smuggling arms to West Bank terrorists.

Israel warned Monday that European Union plans to recognize a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip would effectively mean rewarding terrorism.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called off the scheduled visit to Washington by a delegation headed by his senior aides Ron Dermer and Tzachi Hanegbi following the US’s decision not to use its veto against a UN Security Council resolution, supported by Russia and China, which demanded a ceasefire without making it contingent with the release of hostages held by Hamas.

The United Nations Security Council has, for the first time, adopted a resolution calling for “an immediate ceasefire” in Gaza as the United States shifted its position and abstained from voting.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Israel is ready to launch its military campaign in the Gaza city of Rafah to eliminate the last stronghold of Hamas with or without the support of the United States.

Russia and China have vetoed a U.S. draft United Nations Security Council resolution calling for an “immediate and sustained ceasefire” in Gaza because it included “the release of all remaining hostages” held by Hamas.

Amid fighting a war against Hamas in Gaza and staving off Hezbollah in the north, the Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday night confirmed that a missile fired by the Houthi jihadist group in Yemen had bypassed Israeli air defenses and had landed north of Eilat, an Israeli tourist city which borders the Red Sea, the Jerusalem Post reports.

The U.S. has submitted a resolution to the United Nations demanding an immediate and lasting cease-fire in Gaza, along with the release of hostages, to apply pressure on Israel, the Wall Street Journal reported.

During the ongoing operation, now in its fourth day, at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, the IDF and Shin Bet security agency have reported the death of approximately 140 terrorists and the arrest of around 650 operatives, which includes several high-ranking commanders from terrorist organizations of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Nineteen Democratic Senators have urged President Joe Biden, in a letter sent on Wednesday, to establish a “bold, public framework” for the United States to unilaterally acknowledge the establishment of a demilitarized Palestinian state, which would be administered by a reformed Palestinian Authority.

Inspired by the Biblical woman Esther, who saved the Jewish people from extermination, a group of Israeli activists has urged Jews worldwide to fast and pray for hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza.

As tens of thousands of Nicaraguans are fleeing their homes to escape President Daniel Ortega’s brutal dictatorship, the Nicaraguan government is bringing the German government before the International Court of Justice to demand it stop giving military aid to Israel and start funding the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) again.