The United States has put forward a new proposal that would secure the release of a handful of living hostages held by Hamas in exchange for a month-long extension of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, a source familiar with the negotiations said.

The two sides are supposed to negotiate a second phase of the cease-fire agreement that would end the war, but they remain far apart on how to move forward.

While fighting has not resumed since the March 1 ceasefire expiration, Israel has cut off humanitarian aid to Gaza to press Hamas.

A new report by the U.N. accuses Israel of the increasing use of sexual violence against Palestinians and genocidal acts through the deliberate destruction of their sexual and reproductive healthcare facilities.

United Nations-backed human rights experts on Thursday accused Israel of “the systematic use of sexual, reproductive and other gender-based violence” in its war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The allegations came in one of the most extensive reports of its kind on the issue since Hamas' Oct.

Israel carried out an air strike on the Syrian capital Damascus on Thursday, targeting what the military said was a command centre belonging to the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad, used to direct 'terrorist activities' against Israel.

Military claim to have struck a Palestinian Islamic Jihad headquarters in Damascus is denied by the militant group

Defence Minister Israel Katz confirmed the Israeli Air Force conducted an air strike in Damascus on Thursday, following reports from a war monitor that an Israeli raid had killed one person in Syria's capital.