Yemeni government forces are closing in on the rebel-held port of Hodeida, the war-ravaged country's main conduit for humanitarian aid, the Saudi-led coalition has said, prompting the defiant militants to call for a "mass mobilisation" to thwart any offensive.

The United States led a protest Tuesday against Syria taking over the Conference on Disarmament, calling it  "a travesty" at a time when Damascus is widely accused of using chemical weapons.

Displaced from her home in Syria's Eastern Ghouta, Umaima al-Sheikh and her family sought refuge in an abandoned house across the country in Afrin.

The traditionally Kurdish town had been emptied of its residents just weeks earlier, after a brutal Turkish-led offensive forced tens of thousands to flee.

Israel said it struck dozens of militant targets in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday in response to a barrage of mortar and rocket fire from the Palestinian enclave in the most severe military flare-up since a 2014 war.

A Paris conference seeking a political roadmap for Libya is at risk of being "counterproductive" for the conflict-riven country, the International Crisis Group warned Monday on the eve of the gathering.

A Palestinian was killed by Israeli tank fire into northern Gaza on Monday, the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave said.

Qatar's state-run news agency was back on Twitter on Monday for the first time since its "hacked" website carried controversial comments from the emir that sparked a Gulf crisis.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday he will press German and French leaders next week to support his position that Iran should have no military presence in neighboring Syria.

The European Union on Monday extended sanctions against the Syrian government for another year because of the "ongoing repression of the civilian population."

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas left hospital on Monday after eight days of treatment for pneumonia that led to intense speculation over the 83-year-old's condition and who will eventually replace him.