US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that Washington wanted to see a ceasefire deal in Gaza concluded and the hostages brought out in the next two weeks.
A renewed push is under way to reach a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas and return Israeli hostages before US President-elect Donald Trump takes office on January 20.
"We very much want to bring this over the finish line in the next two weeks, the time we have remaining," Blinken told a press conference in South Korea, when asked whether a ceasefire deal was close.
Blinken also said a North Korean missile test carried out during his visit to Seoul on Monday was a reminder of the need to deepen Washington's cooperation with South Korea and Japan to deter an emboldened Pyongyang.
North Korea fired what appeared to be an intermediate-range ballistic missile, which flew more than 1,100 kilometres (690 miles) east before falling into the sea, according to South Korea's military.
Speaking a few hours later, Blinken told a news conference the launch underscored the importance of collaboration between the US, South Korea and Japan, including on sharing real-time missile data and holding trilateral military exercises.
Russia and Ukraine each released 390 prisoners on Friday and said they would free more in the coming days, in what is expected to be the biggest prisoner swap of the war so far.
Harvard University sued the Trump administration on Friday over its decision to revoke the Ivy League school's ability to enrol foreign students, ratcheting up White House efforts to conform practices in academia to President Donald Trump's policies.
Pakistan and India have extended airspace restrictions for each other's aircraft in tit-for-tat moves, both countries said on Friday, amid continuing diplomatic tensions between the neighbours after a brief military conflict this month.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the leaders of France, Britain and Canada of wanting to help Hamas after they threatened to take "concrete action" if Israel did not stop its latest offensive in Gaza.
US President Donald Trump's administration revoked Harvard University's ability to enroll international students on Thursday, and is forcing current foreign students to transfer to other schools or lose their legal status, while also threatening to expand the crackdown to other colleges.
His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai's Crown Prince and the UAE's Deputy Prime Minster and Defence Minister, has emphasised that empowering young Emiratis with future-ready skills is key to building a sustainable, knowledge-driven economy.