The Iran-backed rebels’ secretive leader had warned Friday that attacks against Israel-linked vessels would resume within four days if Israel didn’t let aid into Gaza. As the deadline passed Tuesday, the Houthis said they were again banning Israeli vessels from the waters off Yemen.

Although no attacks were reported, the warning has put shippers on edge. The rebels targeted over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two vessels and killing four sailors.

Residents in northeastern Syria danced in the streets to celebrate a breakthrough pact between local Kurdish-led authorities and the new central government, while thousands of people continued to flee other areas where sectarian violence has targeted Alawites.

The mostly ethnic Kurdish revelers in the northeastern city Qamishli chanted "One, one, one — the Syrian people are one," as cars drove by honking in celebration following Monday night's declaration, which includes a ceasefire and integration of Kurdish forces into the national army.

For several days, Syria's Mediterranean coast has been gripped by extreme violence that has seen mass killings mainly targeting members of the Alawite minority.

Authorities have not provided a toll, but the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor put the number of dead at 1,225 civilians, mostly Alawites. Human Rights Watch said "hundreds" were killed.

Israeli fire has killed four people and wounded 14 in the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, Palestinian officials said, even as a fragile ceasefire with Hamas has largely held.

Israeli strikes have killed dozens of Palestinians who the army says had approached its troops or entered unauthorized areas in violation of the January truce.

A fact-finding committee formed by Syria's new authorities to investigate a wave of deadly violence said on Tuesday the country was determined to "prevent unlawful revenge".

"The new Syria is determined to enshrine justice and the rule of law, protect the rights and freedoms of its citizens, prevent unlawful revenge and guarantee that there is no impunity," committee spokesman Yasser al-Farhan said at a press conference in Damascus.

Members of Syria's small Christian community on the coast are living in fear after attacks killed more than 1,000 mostly Alawite civilians, with Christians reportedly caught up in the violence.

The Syrian presidency has announced an agreement with the head of the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to integrate the institutions of the autonomous Kurdish administration in the northeast into the national government.

Israel's military said on Tuesday that its warplanes struck southern Syria overnight, targeting air defense systems and other military sites in the latest attack on the neighboring country.

Syria's interim government on Monday announced the end of a days-long military operation against insurgents loyal to ousted president Bashar Assad and his family in the worst fighting since the end of the 13-year civil war in December.

The Defense Ministry's announcement comes after a surprise attack by gunmen from the Alawite community on a police patrol near the port city of Lattakia Thursday spiraled into widespread clashes across Syria's coastal region, during which monitoring groups said hundreds of civilians were killed.

Palestinian militant group Hamas accused Israel on Monday of reneging on a ceasefire deal that halted the Gaza war, as Israeli negotiators were due in Qatar to discuss a potential extension.

"The (Israeli) occupation continues to renege on the agreement and refuses to commence the second phase, exposing its intentions of evasion and stalling," Hamas said in a statement, after the initial phase of the truce had expired with no agreement on subsequent stages that could secure a permanent end to the war.