The U.S. and 16 other countries call for a cease-fire deal, and other news.

The White House and the leaders of 16 other countries put pressure on Hamas and Israel on Thursday to move ahead with a cease-fire in Gaza on terms outlined last week by President Biden. “We call on Hamas to close this agreement, that Israel is ready to move forward with,” they said in a joint statement. Neither Israel nor Hamas has said definitively that they would accept or reject the proposal amid disagreements over fundamental issues.

Spain will ask to join South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza, the Spanish foreign minister, José Manuel Albares, announced on Thursday, the Reuters news agency reported. It joins Ireland, Turkey, Egypt and several other countries that have said they will support the case. In response to an urgent request from South Africa, the court last month ordered Israel to halt its military offensive in Rafah, though it has few effective means of enforcing its order.

Repairs to a temporary pier built by the U.S. military to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza are taking longer than the Pentagon originally estimated. The pier will be reattached to the Gaza shore in the next few days, the Pentagon said on Wednesday; the initial estimate was that it would be fully restored by Tuesday. Rough seas broke the pier apart just days after it was installed last month, and it was towed to the Israeli port of Ashdod for repairs. A Pentagon spokeswoman said that building the pier had cost $230 million, not the $320 million originally forecast.