Germany's foreign minister said on Wednesday that the country would continue arms deliveries to Israel despite earlier suggesting that these were under review.

Johann Wadephul told a heated session in parliament that Israel, amid its military campaign in Gaza, was under threat from Yemen's Houthi rebels, Lebanese Hezbollah and Iran, and that "Germany will continue to support Israel, including with weapons deliveries".

Israel has recovered the bodies of two Israeli-American hostages taken in Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war in the Gaza Strip, officials said Thursday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the remains of Judih Weinstein and Gad Haggai were recovered and returned to Israel in a special operation by the army and the Shin Bet internal security agency.

The United States on Wednesday vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza because it was not linked to the release of hostages, saying it would embolden Hamas militants.

All 14 other members of the council voted in favor of the resolution, which described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as "catastrophic" and called on Israel to lift all restrictions on the delivery of aid to the 2.1 million Palestinians in the territory.

Eight civilians from Syria’s Alawite minority were shot dead by "security checkpoint personnel" on Wednesday in the central province of Hama, a war monitor said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said that "security checkpoint personnel carried out a field execution of eight civilians, including three women, and injured five others -- all Alawite" travelling in "a civilian passenger bus" in the western Hama countryside.

An Israeli- and U.S.-backed group paused food delivery at its three distribution sites in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday after health officials said dozens of Palestinians were killed in a series of shootings near the sites this week.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said it was in discussions with the Israeli military on better guiding foot traffic near the sites and enhancing military training procedures to promote safety.

The U.N. Security Council scheduled a vote Wednesday on a resolution which demands "an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza respected by all parties." U.N. diplomats said the United States is likely to veto it.

The resolution, drafted by the council's 10 elected members who serve two-year terms, reiterates its demand for the release of all hostages held by Hamas and other groups following their Oct. 7, 2023 surprise attack in southern Israel.

Spain, which has strongly criticized Israel's offensive in Gaza, has cancelled a contract to buy 168 firing posts and 1,680 anti-tank missiles from Israeli defense company Rafael, Spanish media reported Wednesday.

The deal was worth 287.5 million euros ($327 million), according to top-selling daily Spanish newspaper El País, which cited unnamed government sources.

Shootings have erupted nearly daily this week in the Gaza Strip in the vicinity of new hubs where desperate Palestinians are being directed to collect food. Witnesses say nearby Israeli troops have opened fire. Hospital officials say at least 80 people have been killed and hundreds wounded.

The Israeli military has said it fired warning shots in several instances, and has also fired directly at a few "suspects" who ignored warnings and approached its forces. It has denied opening fire on civilians, and has not claimed Hamas fired in the area of the hubs, though it says it is still investigating.

The Egyptian man charged with injuring a dozen people in Boulder, Colorado, in an attack on demonstrators seeking the release of Israeli hostages is among hundreds of thousands of people known to overstay their visas each year in the United States.

Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, was born in Egypt and moved three years ago to Colorado Springs, where he lived with his wife and five children, according to state court documents. He lived for 17 years in Kuwait.

Israel hit southern Syria with a series of strikes overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, a rights NGO said, as Israel said it had targeted weapons belonging to Syrian authorities following the launch of projectiles.

"Violent explosions shook southern Syria, notably the town of Quneitra and the Daraa region, following Israeli aerial strikes" that caused no casualties, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, with Israel blaming the Damascus government for the two projectiles launched onto its territory from Syria.