Hamas has reportedly informed Qatari mediators that the group is ready to release up to 70 women and children held in Gaza in return for a five-day truce.
According to an audio recording posted on their Telegram channel, Abu Ubaida, the spokesman for the armed wing of Hamas, al-Qassam Brigades, said the truce includes a ceasefire and allows the entry of relief and humanitarian aid throughout the Gaza Strip.
He also accused Israel of "procrastinating and evading" the price of the deal.
Meanwhile, Egypt's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Ahmed Abu Zaid confirmed that the Rafah border crossing is open, adding it has not closed at any stage since the beginning of the crisis in Gaza.
He added that Egypt has taken all measures to ensure humanitarian aid has been allowed to enter Gaza from their side, and any delays or obstruction are due to Israeli measures.
Since October 7, the Rafah crossing has been operating intermittently, and limited aid has entered through it, but it's subject to inspection at the Israeli Erez crossing before entering the Gaza Strip.
A huge wall of mud and rock collapsed into a river on the Himalayan border of Nepal and China's Tibet on Wednesday, triggering catastrophic flooding on the Nepali side that killed at least 95 people and left hundreds of tourists missing.
At least 14 infants were killed in a fire at a state-run hospital in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Wednesday, the prime minister said, with the health minister attributing the tragedy to a blast in the nursery ward.
The United States said Wednesday that it had disrupted a Chinese hacking operation responsible for break-ins at the US Justice Department, NASA, the Federal Reserve, the US Senate, and other sensitive government agencies.
The US military said on Tuesday four people have been killed in a strike on a vessel in the Caribbean, the latest in a series of attacks that Washington says target "narco-terrorists" but human rights groups condemn as extrajudicial killings.
Canada on Tuesday announced retaliatory tariffs on C$27.6 billion ($19.94 billion) worth of United States goods, matching dollar-for-dollar new duties imposed by Washington, and unveiled financial support for Canadian businesses and workers caught in the escalating trade war.