Regional heads of U.N. agencies helping some 5.5 million Syrian refugees say they've received only 20 percent of $5.6 billion promised for 2018, warning that they'll soon have to scrap vital aid programs involving food, water and education.

Amin Awad of the U.N. refugee agency told a news conference Thursday that "this is an urgent and critical appeal" to international donors to disburse the money.

With a cease-fire declared Wednesday, Israel and Hamas appear to have pulled back from a fourth war after a day of intense rocket fire and airstrikes. But the situation could explode at any moment.

Tuesday's fighting was the heaviest since a 2014 war, with Palestinian militants firing scores of rockets and mortars into Israel, and Israel carrying out dozens of airstrikes in Gaza.

An Emirati court has sentenced an award-winning human rights activist to 10 years in prison for insulting the "status and prestige of the UAE and its symbols", pro-government media reported Thursday.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has warned US-backed Kurdish forces he would not hesitate to use force to retake the third of the country they control.

"The only problem left in Syria is the SDF," Assad told Russia Today in an interview aired Thursday, referring to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces which has spearheaded battles against Islamic State group jihadists.

Pro-government forces in Yemen are preparing to surround a key Red Sea port in a bid to force Huthi rebels to surrender it without a fight, military sources said Wednesday.

Libya's rival leaders are expected in Paris next Tuesday under pressure to agree to a political roadmap for the war-struck country that could see elections held before the end of 2018, according to the French presidency.

Israel announced Sunday it had begun working on a barrier off the Mediterranean coast to prevent the possibility of infiltrations by sea from the Gaza Strip.

Kuwait on Tuesday circulated a watered-down draft UN Security Council resolution on setting up an international protection mission for the Palestinians in a bid to win European support in a vote expected this week, diplomats said.

Israel denied it has agreed to a ceasefire with Palestinian militants in Gaza as claimed by Hamas after the worst military flare-up since a 2014 war, but calm returned Wednesday and there were signs the latest crisis may be ending.

The United Nations is extremely concerned by a Yemen military offensive to seize the port of Hodeida and has begun drawing up plans to deal with a possible escalation in fighting, the U.N. spokesman said Tuesday.

Yemen's government forces, backed by the Saudi-led coalition, were closing in on the rebel-held Red Sea port, which is a key entry point for humanitarian aid.