Negotiators seeking a Gaza ceasefire were set to meet for a second day in Qatar on Friday, while top European diplomats were expected in Israel to stress the urgency of averting a wider war.

The on-and-off truce talks reconvened in Qatar's capital on Thursday without Hamas, which has accused Israel of obstructing a deal and insists on the implementation of previously agreed terms.

Ukraine has claimed fresh advances in its offensive into Russia, saying on Thursday it seized over 1,100 square kilometers in the biggest attack by a foreign army on Russian soil since World War II.

Ukraine said it now controlled dozens of settlements and Sudzha, a town eight kilometers (five miles) from the border.

The White House said Thursday that Gaza ceasefire talks in Qatar involving top U.S. officials had a "promising start" but that it did not expect to close a deal immediately.

Lebanon's health ministry said Israeli strikes killed two people in the country's south on Wednesday, with Hezbollah announcing the deaths of two of its fighters, the latest cross-border violence amid fears of a full-blown regional war.

Hezbollah has traded near daily fire with the Israeli army since the Palestinian militant group Hamas' unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war.

Five influential Israeli rabbis have condemned Jewish prayers at annexed east Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound, saying the holy site remains "strictly forbidden" to Jews after a visit by a far-right minister.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has met with Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara for talks on a ceasefire and peace, a day after a visit to Moscow.

Pressure built for a Gaza ceasefire to be agreed at talks set to resume Thursday in Qatar to avert a wider war involving Iran, after months of fighting between Israel and Hamas militants.

Israeli air strikes targeted Gaza on Wednesday ahead of ceasefire talks that the United States hopes will stop Iran striking Israel in retaliation for the killing of a Hamas leader.

Iran and its allies blamed Israel for the July 31 killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran during a visit for the inauguration of President Masoud Pezeshkian. Israel has not commented.

Air France and its Transavia subsidiary expect to resume service to Beirut Thursday, which has been suspended since July 29 because of tensions in the Middle East, the French carrier said Wednesday.

"At this stage, and subject to the evolution of the security situation at destination, the airline plans to resume its flights between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Beirut on Thursday, August 15, 2024," Air France said in a communique.

Visiting U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein warned Wednesday that the clock was ticking for a Gaza ceasefire that would also end 10 months of cross-border exchanges between Lebanon's Hezbollah and Israel.

Hochstein told a Beirut news conference that he and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, discussed "the framework agreement that's on the table for a Gaza ceasefire, and he and I agreed there is no more time to waste and there's no more valid excuses from any party for any further delay."