Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday a deal to return hostages held in the Gaza Strip has been reached, after his office said earlier there were last minute snags in finalizing a ceasefire that would pause 15 months of war.

The US and Hamas held their first direct talks since the Gaza ceasefire as part of efforts to advance the fragile US-brokered agreement, two Hamas sources said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has explicitly rejected international calls for a ceasefire in Lebanon, vowing to continue military strikes against Hezbollah with “full force” until northern Israeli residents can safely return home.

The leaders of Israel and Lebanon have agreed on a 10-day ceasefire in Israel's fight against Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Israeli forces have killed at least eight Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, marking another serious breach of the ceasefire, which has officially been in place since last October. The killings were reported on April 15 amid ongoing Israeli military activity in Gaza,

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Saturday that 921 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory since Israel resumed large-scale strikes on March 18. According to the ministry's statement,

Hours after Iran and the U.S. reached a two-week ceasefire agreement, Israel launched a massive bombing campaign across Lebanon, killing hundreds of people and threatening to derail the U.S.-Iranian ceasefire before it even begins.

The war ceasefire looked shaky within its first 24 hours after strikes hit energy infrastructure on both sides of the conflict and Israel pummelled Beirut.

Lebanese officials engaged Thursday in intensive diplomatic contacts to confirm the country's inclusion in the Pakistan-mediated U.S.-Iran cease-fire.