A Hamas official on Friday accused US envoy Steve Witkoff of distorting reality after he announced Washington's withdrawal from Gaza truce talks and accused the group of blocking a deal.

Ceasefire talks between Hamas and Israel are expected to resume next week, a Hamas official said Friday, as Israeli strikes continue across Gaza and experts warn Palestinians are on the brink of famine.

Hamas official Bassem Naim said on Friday that he was told an Israeli delegation would depart for consultations early next week. Previous talks had been held in Qatar. His comments come a day after the United States recalled its negotiating team from Qatar and after President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said Hamas' latest response to the negotiations showed a "lack of desire" to reach a truce.

U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff on Thursday announced Washington was joining Israel in pulling negotiators back from Gaza peace talks in the Qatari capital, accusing Hamas of not "acting in good faith."

"We have decided to bring our team home from Doha for consultations after the latest response from Hamas, which clearly shows a lack of desire to reach a ceasefire in Gaza," Witkoff posted on social media. "While the mediators have made a great effort, Hamas does not appear to be coordinated or acting in good faith."

France said on Friday that its plan to formally recognize a Palestinian state runs counter to the stance held by Palestinian militant group Hamas.

"Hamas has always ruled out a two-state solution. By recognizing Palestine, France goes against that terrorist organization," Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on X, a day after President Emmanuel Macron said France would recognize Palestinian statehood in September.

The U.S. special envoy for Syria said he held talks with Syrian and Israeli officials in Paris on Thursday on de-escalating sectarian violence in Syria.

"I met this evening with the Syrians and Israelis in Paris. Our goal was dialogue and de-escalation, and we accomplished precisely that," said the envoy, Tom Barrack, on X.

France's highest court is ruling Friday on whether it can strip the head of state immunity of Bashar Assad, the former leader of Syria now in exile in Russia, because of the brutality of the evidence in accusations against him collected by Syrian activists and European prosecutors.

If the judges at the Cour de Cassation lift Assad's immunity, it could pave the way for his trial in absentia over the use of chemical weapons in Ghouta in 2013 and Douma in 2018, and set a precedent to allow the prosecution of other government leaders linked to atrocities, human rights activists and lawyers say.

Before the eruption of sectarian violence in southern Syria, Saber Abou Ras taught medical sciences at a university in the city of Sweida and was somewhat hopeful of a better future for his country as it emerged from nearly 14 years of civil war.

Now, like many others in the Druze-majority city in southern Syria, he carries arms and refuses to give them up to the government. He sees little hope for the united Syria he recently thought was in reach.

The Israeli army said eight soldiers were wounded on Thursday when a driver deliberately rammed his car into a bus stop in what police called a "terror attack".

The army said two soldiers were "moderately injured" and six "lightly injured" in the attack at the Beit Lid junction near Kfar Yona in central Israel.

An Israeli woman has been charged with plotting to assassinate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, prosecutors said on Thursday.

Israel said on Thursday it was recalling its Gaza ceasefire negotiators from Doha for consultations following a response from Palestinian militant group Hamas to the latest proposal for a 60-day truce.