U.S. President Joe Biden's administration has invited relatives of slain Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh to Washington, an American official said Wednesday, as Biden arrived in Israel. 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken "has invited the family to the United States to be able to sit down and engage with him directly", Biden's National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters aboard Air Force One, which later touched down in Israel shortly past 1200 GMT. 

Several dozen organizations have called on Egypt to end its crackdown on civil society and allow people to exercise freedom of expression ahead of the Egypt-hosted U.N. summit on climate change.

In a joint statement signed by 36 groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, they expressed concern that Egypt will largely keep in place its prohibition on protests during the conference in November.

Israel has said it would increase the number of work permits issued to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and allow thousands more Palestinians to gain legal status ahead of President Joe Biden's visit to the region later this week.

Israel portrays such moves as confidence-building measures aimed at reducing tensions. Critics say they merely entrench its 55-year military rule over millions of Palestinians in the absence of any peace process. The last serious peace talks broke down more than a decade ago.

Nine European countries have said that they have seen "no substantial evidence" to support Israel's allegations that six Palestinian civil society groups are terrorist organizations and would not change their policies on supporting the groups.

The rare joint statement was a major rebuke of Israel, which backlisted the groups as terrorist organizations last October but has provided little evidence to support its allegations. The rights groups denied the allegations and accused Israel of escalating a long-standing crackdown on Palestinian opposition to its decades-long military rule.

Poland and Israel have taken a step toward normalizing diplomatic ties, the Polish president said, as the Israeli ambassador officially presented his credentials in Warsaw.

President Andrzej Duda tweeted that he and Israeli President Issac Herzog have "agreed that it's time to return to normal relations."

Iran said U.S. President Joe Biden's trip to the Middle East, which starts on Wednesday, will not bring about security for Israel, the Islamic republic's regional arch-enemy.

"If the visits of the American officials to the countries of the region are to strengthen the position of the Zionist regime and to normalize the relations of this regime with some countries, their efforts will not create security for the Zionists in any way," President Ebrahim Raisi said in a statement, referring to Israel.

U.S. President Joe Biden started a Middle East tour on Wednesday in Israel, where leaders will urge tougher action against their common foe Iran, before a delicate stop in oil-rich Saudi Arabia. 

Biden's visit to Jeddah on Friday will be the focus of the tour, after he branded Saudi Arabia a "pariah" over the 2018 murder of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution Tuesday extending a system for cross-border aid to Syria by six months, the duration demanded by Russia while other members had sought a full year.

The leader of the Islamic State militant group in Syria was killed Tuesday in a U.S. drone strike, the Pentagon said.

Maher al-Agal was killed while riding a motorcycle near Jindayris in Syria, and one of his top aides was seriously injured, Pentagon Central Command spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Dave Eastburn told AFP.

The U.N. special envoy for Yemen said Monday he plans to explore the possibility of a longer and expanded truce with the country's warring parties in the coming weeks.

Hans Grundberg said an extension could be a good step in moving toward a cease-fire in the country's eight-year civil war. He didn't provide details of the length or expansion he is seeking ahead of the Aug. 2 expiration of the current two-month truce extension.