Israel and Hamas appear closer than they have been in months to agreeing to a ceasefire that could wind down the 14-month war in Gaza and bring home dozens of people held hostage there.

But the sides have come close before, only to have talks collapse over various disagreements. This round of negotiations also faces hurdles.

The Syrian Civil Defense group, known as the White Helmets, uncovered at least 21 corpses as well as incomplete human remains on Wednesday in the Sayyida Zeinab suburb of the capital Damascus.

The discovery was made at a site previously used by Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iran-backed Iraqi militias, both allies of deposed President Bashar Assad during the country’s civil war. The site included a field kitchen, a drugstore and a morgue, according to Ammar al-Salmo, an official with the White Helmets, a volunteer organization that operated in areas that were controlled by the opposition.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Thursday that there was a "flame of hope" in Syria following the fall of president Bashar al-Assad's regime but warned of significant challenges ahead.

He also underlined that Israel's widespread strikes on Syrian military infrastructure were "violations" of the country's sovereignty and called for them to cease.

Hundreds of Syrians protested Thursday in central Damascus calling for democracy and women's rights, more than a week after an Islamist-led rebel alliance ousted president Bashar al-Assad, AFP correspondents said.

"We want a democracy, not a religious state," men and women demonstrators chanted in central Damascus's Ummayad Square, as well as "Free, civil Syria" and "the Syrian people are one", while some protesters held signs including "No free nation without free women".

CNN is acknowledging that a gripping story it aired last week depicting a Syrian man being let free from a Damascus prison after the fall of dictator Bashar Assad's regime was not what it seemed.

The network said that it has since found out that the man shown in correspondent Clarissa Ward's report, which initially aired on Dec. 11, apparently gave a false identity.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday urged Israel to remove its forces from the "territory of Syria".

"We hope that Israel will at some point leave the territory of Syria. But now it is bringing in additional troops," Putin said at his annual end-of-year press conference.

The Palestinian health ministry said Thursday that an Israeli air strike on a car killed four Palestinians and wounded three near the occupied West Bank city of Tulkarem.

The ministry announced that the Palestinians were killed "as a result of the (Israeli) bombing of a vehicle in Tulkarem camp", which the Israeli army did not immediately confirm to AFP.

Efforts to strike a Gaza truce and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas have repeatedly failed over key stumbling blocks, but recent negotiations have raised hope of an agreement.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday he remained hopeful of reaching a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, after Washington expressed Tuesday "cautious optimism" on the possibility of an "imminent deal".

The four sisters gathered by the side of the road, craning their necks to peer far beyond the razor wire-reinforced fence snaking across the mountain. One took off her jacket and waved it slowly above her head.

In the distance, a tiny white speck waved frantically from the hillside.

Yemen's Houthi rebels claimed a missile attack Thursday against Israel, which said it intercepted the threat and struck back before warning the Iran-backed movement it would "pay a heavy price".

The Houthis, who control most of Yemen's population centers, have repeatedly launched missiles at Israel since the Gaza war broke out more than a year ago.