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.

The billionaire adviser to the president spoke at the beginning of the meeting with the heads of agencies such as the state department and Pentagon.

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.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine will on Friday meet with US President Donald Trump and sign a critical minerals deal on Friday as Kyiv works to regain US support to fight off the Russian invasion as Washington reverses its punitive policy towards Moscow.