Hamas announced that it has replied to a U.S.-backed Gaza ceasefire proposal, but Washington's main negotiator criticized the response as "totally unacceptable".

Prince Faisal bin Farhan will become the first Saudi foreign minister to visit the occupied West Bank on Sunday, a diplomatic source told AFP, as the Gaza war drags on and Riyadh pushes for Palestinian statehood.

Israel struck western Syria overnight, the Israeli military and Syrian state media said, with one civilian reportedly killed in the first such attack on the country in nearly a month.

Israel has said that Hamas must accept a hostage deal in Gaza or "be annihilated", as U.S. President Donald Trump announced that a ceasefire agreement is "very close".

Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed on Friday to build a "Jewish Israeli state" in the occupied West Bank, a day after the government announced the creation of 22 new settlements in the Palestinian territory.

He said the move was a "clear message" to French President Emmanuel Macron, whom Israel's foreign ministry accused of carrying out a "crusade against the Jewish state."

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 14 people in the Gaza Strip, hospital officials said Friday, while Hamas was reviewing a new Israeli-approved ceasefire proposal after giving it an initial cool response.

President Donald Trump's Mideast envoy had expressed optimism this week about brokering an agreement that could halt the Israel-Hamas war, allow more aid into Gaza, and return more of the 58 hostages still held by Hamas, around a third of whom are alive.

Israel accused French President Emmanuel Macron of undertaking a "crusade against the Jewish state" on Friday after he called for European countries to harden their stance on Israel if the humanitarian situation in Gaza did not improve.

"There is no humanitarian blockade. That is a blatant lie," Israel's foreign ministry said in a statement, defending its efforts to allow in aid. "But instead of applying pressure on the jihadist terrorists, Macron wants to reward them with a Palestinian state. No doubt its national day will be October 7."

French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday that European countries should "harden the collective position" against Israel if it does not respond appropriately to the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

With international pressure mounting on Israel over the deepening hunger crisis in Gaza, Macron said action was needed "in the next few hours and days".

Yemen's Houthi rebels took responsibility for firing the long-range missile Thursday evening, which Israel's military says was intercepted as air-raid sirens sounded in parts of the country. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

Israel halted a national soccer championship match in Tel Aviv due to the Houthi missile attack, which came as the tempo of negotiations on a ceasefire in Gaza has increased.

Israel has accepted a new U.S. proposal for a temporary ceasefire with Hamas, the White House said Thursday.

U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, expressed optimism earlier this week about brokering an agreement to halt the Israel-Hamas war and return more of the hostages captured in the attack that ignited it.