Yemen's Houthi rebels said they had arrested members of an "American-Israeli spy network" days after detaining at least 11 U.N. staffers along with others from aid organizations.

Maj. Gen. Abdulhakim al-Khayewani, head of the Houthis' intelligence agency, announced the arrests, saying the spy network had first operated out of the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa. Then after it was closed in 2015 following the Houthi takeover of the capital Sanaa and northern Yemen, they continued "their subversive agenda under the cover of international and UN organizations," he said.

The Israeli military said on Tuesday that four soldiers had been killed in fighting in southern Gaza the previous day, more than eight months into its war against Hamas militants.

The soldiers were "killed in fighting in south Gaza" on Monday, the military said in a statement, without elaborating on the circumstances of their deaths.

The United Nations Security Council has adopted a U.S.-drafted resolution supporting a ceasefire plan in Gaza, as Washington leads an intense diplomatic campaign to push Hamas to accept the proposal.

The text -- passed with 14 votes in favor and Russia abstaining -- "welcomes" the truce and hostage release proposal announced on May 31 by President Joe Biden, and urges "parties to fully implement its terms without delay and without condition."

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged top Israeli officials on Monday to accept and implement a plan for postwar Gaza as he pushed for more international pressure on Hamas to agree to a cease-fire proposal newly endorsed by the U.N. Security Council.

On his latest urgent mission to the Middle East — his eighth since the Israel-Hamas war began in October — Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant after talks in Cairo with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to push the proposal, which faces new uncertainty following Israel's hostage rescue operation that killed many Palestinians and turmoil in Netanyahu's government.

Missile attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels struck two ships in the Gulf of Aden, authorities said Sunday, the latest assaults on shipping in the region.

One anti-ship ballistic cruise missile hit the Antigua- and Barbuda-flagged cargo ship Norderney forward station late Saturday, starting a fire that those on board put out, the U.S. military's Central Command said. It added that a second anti-ship cruise missile also hit the Norderney.

Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz on Sunday announced his resignation amid celebrations for the rescue of four captives from war-torn Gaza in a raid that Palestinians say killed hundreds.

Pope Francis has called for humanitarian aid to urgently reach Palestinians in Gaza and for Israel and Hamas to immediately accept proposals for a cease-fire and release of hostages.

During his Sunday noon blessing, Francis also thanked Jordan, which this week will host an international humanitarian aid conference for Palestinians.

Israel's dramatic weekend rescue of four hostages from the Gaza Strip, in an operation that local health officials say killed 274 Palestinians, came at a sensitive time in the 8-month-old war, as Israel and Hamas weigh a U.S. proposal for a cease-fire and the release of the remaining captives.

Both sides face renewed pressure to make a deal: The complex rescue is unlikely to be replicated on a scale needed to bring back scores of remaining hostages, and it was a powerful reminder for Israelis that there are still surviving captives held in harsh conditions. Hamas now has four fewer bargaining chips.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken returns to the Middle East this week as a proposed Israel-Hamas cease-fire deal hangs in the balance after the dramatic rescue of four Israeli hostages held in Gaza in a major military raid and turmoil in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

With no firm response yet from Hamas to the proposal received 10 days ago, Blinken on Monday will start his eighth diplomatic mission to the region since the conflict began in October. He will meet with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi in Cairo before traveling to Israel, Jordan and Qatar.

Benny Gantz, a centrist member of Israel's three-man war Cabinet, announced his resignation Sunday, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of mismanaging the war effort and putting his own "political survival" over the country's security needs.