The White House said on Sunday that it supports Israel's decision to delay releasing 600 Palestinian prisoners, citing the "barbaric treatment" of Israeli hostages by Hamas.

Hamas says talks with Israel about further steps in the Gaza ceasefire deal are conditional on Palestinian prisoners being freed as agreed. Israel said on Sunday it was delaying the release of more than 600 Palestinians in return for six living and four dead hostages who had been freed,

Israel has informed mediators that it is willing to release 602 prisoners scheduled for release on Saturday if Hamas hands over four bodies on Monday, according to a report by Ynet citing an Israeli official.

A White House official on Wednesday raised doubts about whether an invitation to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to meet U.S. President Donald Trump would make sense given Zelenskiy's comments that a minerals deal is not complete.

Benjamin Netanyahu has said "President Trump is the greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White House" during a news conference on Sunday, 16 February with the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.