By John O'Donnell and Padraic Halpin

DUBLIN (Reuters) -Ireland is poised to curb planned sanctions on Israel, blunting a law central to its protest over the war in Gaza, after pressure from business groups concerned about the impact on investment, four people with knowledge of the matter said.

Ireland's government is one of the most outspoken critics of Israel's assault in Gaza but, unlike others such as Spain, it hosts the European headquarters of some of the U.S.'s biggest companies, making it uniquely vulnerable to pressure from the U.S.

By Asif Shahzad

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -The 20 points that U.S. President Donald Trump announced this week under his plan to end the war in Gaza were not in line with a draft presented to him by a group of Muslim-majority countries, Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Friday.

The group had proposed a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza during a September 22 meeting with Trump, whereas his plan envisages a partial Israeli pullback to prepare for a release of remaining hostages held by Palestinian Hamas militants.

By Olivia Le Poidevin

GENEVA (Reuters) -Mothers and newborn babies in Gaza face dire conditions as Nasser hospital in the south of the enclave is overwhelmed with patients fleeing the north and medical resources running out, UNICEF said on Friday.

"The situation for mothers and newborns in Gaza has never been worse. In Nasser hospital, we're seeing hospital corridors lined with women who've just given birth," UNICEF spokesperson James Elder told reporters in Geneva via video link from Gaza.

BARCELONA/ROME (Reuters) -Pro-Palestinian demonstrators in Europe on Thursday blocked traffic and vandalised shops and restaurants after Israeli forces intercepted a Gaza-bound humanitarian aid flotilla.

Israel faced international condemnation after armed Israeli soldiers boarded around 40 ships that were attempting to break a naval blockade to deliver aid to the Palestinian enclave, arresting more than 400 foreign activists including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg.

Over 200,000 people protested across Italy Friday as they downed tools in support of the Gaza aid flotilla in a strike that caused widespread disruption.

Demonstrators condemned the treatment of the Global Sumud Flotilla that sailed to challenge Israel's blockade of Gaza, where the United Nations has reported famine conditions after nearly two years of war.

The Italian strike, called by the USB and CGIL unions, followed demonstrations Thursday in cities across the world, including Milan and Rome, where some 10,000 people marched from the Colosseum.

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A Texas woman was sentenced to five years in prison for attempting to drown a 3-year-old Palestinian-American Muslim girl in a May 2024 incident that local police said was motivated by racial bias.

Court records and proceedings cited by CBS News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram showed Judge Andy Porter sentenced Elizabeth Wolf, 43, after she pleaded guilty to attempted murder and injury to a child. Wolf was indicted last year after the attack, which was condemned by then-President Joe Biden, and waived a trial by jury.

Hamas said on Friday it was ready to start immediate talks on freeing the Israeli hostages it holds and ending the Gaza war, welcoming US President Donald Trump's call for Israel to stop bombing the Palestinian territory.

Trump's peace proposal, backed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calls for a halt to hostilities in the nearly two-year conflict, the release of hostages within 72 hours, a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and Hamas's disarmament -- a point the Islamist group did not mention in its response.

Israel on Friday deported four Italian activists, the first of hundreds detained from an aid flotilla bound for Gaza, shortly after the interception of the group's final boat brought an end to its mission.

The Global Sumud Flotilla set sail last month, ferrying politicians and activists including Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg towards Gaza, where the United Nations says famine is taking hold.

Protesters around the world Thursday railed at Israel's interception of a flotilla carrying aid for Gaza's besieged Palestinians, urging greater sanctions in response.

From Europe to Australia and South America, demonstrators took to the streets to condemn the treatment of the Global Sumud Flotilla, which set sail from Barcelona last month to challenge Israel's blockade of Gaza, where the United Nations reports famine conditions after nearly two years of war.

Former US secretary of state Antony Blinken voiced support Thursday for a Gaza plan laid out by President Donald Trump, saying it was in line with a deal he pursued under Joe Biden.

"I do think it's cause for some hope. I certainly hope that the plan gets fully accepted, fully adopted and fully implemented," Blinken said.

"This is essentially the plan that developed over many months and more or less (was) left in a drawer for the incoming administration, and I'm very, very glad they picked it up," he told the podcast of former federal prosecutor Preet Bharara.