U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday announced a "great settlement" with Iran to end the Middle East war, saying he expected a deal to be signed in Europe in the coming days.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he canceled planned strikes against Iran on Thursday and claimed Iran's leadership "approved" a draft agreement that would extend the ceasefire, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and launch 60 days of negotiations on Iran's nuclear program.

Iran's Fars news agency, citing an unnamed source, said on Thursday that Tehran has not yet approved a text for any deal with the United States.

Israel's Supreme Court is weighing whether to extend the detention of a prominent Palestinian doctor who was seized by Israeli forces 17 months ago in Gaza and appeared via video conference before the judges to challenge his imprisonment.

By Thursday afternoon, the court had not yet released a decision, said Naji Abbas, director of prisoners and detainees at Physicians for Human Rights — Israel, a nonprofit group.

President Donald Trump on Thursday said the U.S. would hit Iran "VERY HARD TONIGHT," threatening in a social media post to "assume total control" of Iran's oil and gas industries, including the key Kharg Island, in the "not too distant future."

The post come after the U.S and Iran traded strikes for a second day, pushing the Middle East closer to the resumption of a full-scale war. The American attack, which lasted into Thursday morning in Iran, appeared more intense and wider than the day before.

U.S. forces struck and disabled a third commercial oil tanker attempting to bypass their blockade of Iranian ports this week, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said Thursday, adding that it was the ninth such attack since the blockade began.

American forces "acted against Guinea-Bissau flagged M/T Jalveer as it attempted to transport oil from Iran through the Gulf of Oman," CENTCOM said. "A U.S. aircraft fired two Hellfire missiles into the ship's engine room after the crew repeatedly failed to comply with directions from US forces."

Radio France Internationale (RFI) condemned Thursday Israel's entry ban on French reporter Alice Froussard, who freelances for the station and other outlets, as "an obstacle to press freedom".

"Israeli authorities have not provided any justification to RFI for this decision," the broadcaster said in a statement.

Saudi Arabia condemned on Thursday overnight Iranian attacks on Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait, and called for renewed negotiations under Pakistani and Qatari mediation to end the Middle East war.

In a statement, the Saudi foreign ministry called for "de-escalation and restraint, urging all parties to priorities wisdom by returning to diplomatic efforts and resuming the constructive negotiations sponsored by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, along with the efforts of the State of Qatar".

Qatari negotiators have departed Tehran following discussions on the Middle East war, a diplomat told AFP on Thursday, as the US and Iran traded strikes once more.

"The Qatari delegation departed from Tehran this morning following talks with Iranian officials... that lasted into the early hours of this morning," the diplomat said on condition of anonymity, adding the discussions were "conducted in coordination with the United States".

Amnesty International accused Israel on Wednesday of carrying out a campaign of "ethnic cleansing" of Palestinians from the occupied West Bank with the intention to annex the Palestinian territory.

The accusation came in a new, 149-page report alleging that the forced displacement of West Bank Palestinians resulted from a concerted state policy, and not just the actions of violent settlers. While much of the displacement is driven by settlers who build outposts on Palestinian land, the report asserts that the process could not occur without the support of the government.