A senior Israeli official has told CBS News and other reporters that Israel is ready for a pause in the fighting in Gaza if it concretely assesses Hamas is serious about releasing hostages.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has reiterated U.S. support for humanitarian pauses in Israel's military operations in Gaza to address "urgent needs" on the ground.

Israel and Hamas are on the verge of reaching a three-day ceasefire agreement, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation reported on Wednesday.

Egyptian sources meanwhile said that Cairo is about to achieve a humanitarian truce in Gaza involving the exchange of hostages and captives.

The U.S. has promised to convince Israel’s government to agree to a brief humanitarian truce in the war on Gaza and the discussions are now revolving around what can be done during the proposed pause, informed Palestinian sources quoted Arab and regional capitals as saying.

“The discussions are focusing on an incomplete exchange of civilian captives held by the resistance forces in Gaza in return for the entry of a large quantity of aid into Gaza, including fuel, and helping in addressing the file of those trapped under the rubble,” the sources told al-Akhbar newspaper in remarks published Wednesday.

The Islamic State group ambushed pro-government militiamen in an overnight attack in eastern Syria, killing at least 21 fighters, pro-government media and an opposition war monitor said Wednesday.

Sham FM radio reported that the militiamen from the pro-government National Defense Places were ambushed in the village of al-Kawm in the central Syrian desert, between the government-held city of Homs and south of the city of Raqqa, which is under control of U.S.-backed Kurdish-led forces.

G7 foreign ministers called Wednesday on Iran to refrain from providing support for Hamas and Hezbollah, and to use its influence to de-escalate regional tensions.

"We call on Iran to refrain from providing support for Hamas and taking further actions that destabilize the Middle East, including support for Lebanese Hezbollah and other non-state actors, and to use its influence with those groups to de-escalate regional tensions," the ministers said in a joint statement after talks in Japan.

Thousands of Palestinians are fleeing south on foot with only what they can carry after running out of food and water in the north, a U.N. agency said Wednesday, as Israel said its troops were battling Hamas militants deep inside Gaza City.

Over 70% of Gaza's population of 2.3 million have already fled their homes, but the growing numbers making their way south point to an increasingly desperate situation in and around Gaza's largest city, which has come under heavy Israeli bombardment.

Top diplomats from the Group of Seven leading industrial democracies announced a unified stance on the Israel-Hamas war on Wednesday after intensive meetings in Tokyo, condemning Hamas, supporting Israel's right to self-defense and calling for "humanitarian pauses" to speed aid to desperate civilians in the Gaza Strip.

In a statement following two days of talks, the nations sought to balance unequivocal criticism of Hamas' attacks against Israel and "the need for urgent action" to help civilians in the besieged Palestinian enclave.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Tuesday Israeli forces were operating "in the heart of Gaza City" one month after Hamas' bloody October 7 attacks, as the campaign to crush the Palestinian militants intensifies.

"We are in the heart of Gaza City," Gallant told reporters. "Gaza is the largest terrorist base ever built."

A journalist with Lebanese Al-Mayadeen television channel has filed a police complaint against an Israeli journalist who she alleged had "intimidated" her.

Hana Mohamed said Israeli journalist Haim Etgar confronted her at a post office after allegedly impersonating a postal employee and "threatening" her.

Three drones on Tuesday targeted a military base at Arbil airport in Iraqi Kurdistan that plays host to troops from the U.S.-led anti-jihadist coalition, local officials said.

On Tuesday morning, "at two different points, three drones attacked the international coalition", the anti-terrorism service of the autonomous region of Kurdistan said in a statement.