Why did Pharaoh want the Jewish boys killed?

As he was told that a savior would be born from the Jewish people which would take them out of Egypt, and he hence desired to circumvent the prophecy by having all the male children killed. Alternatively, the reason is because Pharaoh desired to diminish the population of the Jewish people, and that is why he gave them slave labor to begin with. When he saw that they were still having many children despite the salve labor, he asked for them to be killed.

Who advised Pharaoh to kill the male children?

Balaam.

What happened to the Jewish male babies at the time of the first decree to have them killed by the midwives?[1]

The Jewish mothers would go to the fields to give birth. Hashem made a miracle and had angels come and sustain the children who were born in the fields without a midwife. In fact, the angels took better care of the children and the mother than a midwife would have done. The angel would cut the umbilical cord and would clean the child. Every infant was then given two small stones, one which he would use to suckle milk from and the second you would use to suckle honey from, and that is how they were sustained and grew. The mothers would leave the children in the fields due to fear that they would be found and killed. Hashem made a miracle and had the ground swallow the children to protect them from being found. At one point the Egyptians came and plowed the earth to kill them but no damage was done to the children and after the Egyptians left, they sprouted out from the ground like grass. When they were old enough, they would return to their father’s home.

What happened to the Jewish male babies who were thrown into the river?[2]

Tens of thousands of babies were thrown into the river since the decree was made, and some even say that the number reached up to 600,000 children. Nonetheless, the majority of the children were saved by G-d. The waves would come and bring the children to the desert and place them underground for upbringing until they were old enough to go back home and join their families.

Children thrown in the bricks and fire:[3]

Many of the children were thrown into the bricks of the building, and they would scream and cry, and no one would have mercy on them. Others were thrown in the fire.

For how many years did the decree last?[4]

Rebbe Yanai says that the decree lasted for 3.5 years prior to the birth of Moshe.

Who were Shifra and Puah?[5]

They were G-d fearing women, a mother and daughter. The Talmud[6] states that Shifrah was Yocheved, the wife of Amram, and Puah was her five-year-old daughter named Miriam who new how to calm the babies. Others, however, suggest that they were Yocheved and Elisheva her daughter in-law. Others suggest that they were Egyptian women who eventually converted.

For how many years did the decree last?[7]

Rebbe Yanai says that the decree lasted for 3.5 years prior to the birth of Moshe.

Who were Shifra and Puah?[8]

They were G-d fearing women, a mother and daughter. The Talmud[9] states that Shifrah was Yocheved, the wife of Amram, and Puah was her five-year-old daughter named Miriam who new how to calm the babies. Others, however, suggest that they were Yocheved and Elisheva her daughter in-law. Others suggest that they were Egyptian women who eventually converted.