Russia's top army official is set to discuss the Syrian conflict on Thursday with his Turkish counterpart in Ankara, a fresh sign of healing relations damaged by Turkey's shooting down of a Russian war plane last year.   

Some 20 women of different nationalities set sail for the Gaza Strip from Barcelona on Wednesday evening, in the latest attempt to break a crippling blockade imposed by Israel.

"We think that through this act organised by women, we can give more visibility to the important role of Palestinian women in the fight for freedom," said Zohar Chamberlain, one of the organisers, just before two yachts left the Spanish Mediterranean city.

The United Nations urged Syria's government Thursday to allow immediate aid deliveries to hunger-stricken civilians after a fragile ceasefire was extended for 48 hours by Russia and the United States.

Former Israeli president and Noble Peace Prize winner Shimon Peres saw "real improvement" on Thursday but remained in serious condition after the 93-year-old suffered a major stroke, his doctor said.

The country has been on edge over the condition of the elder statesman, Israel's last remaining founding father, after he was admitted to hospital on Tuesday feeling unwell and suffered a stroke with internal bleeding while there.

The World Bank says less than half the money pledged by donors to rebuild the Gaza Strip after the 2014 war between Hamas and Israel has been disbursed.

The shortfall is among several reasons the Palestinian economy is stagnating, with unemployment at 42 percent in Gaza and at 18 percent in the West Bank.

Israel's air force hit the Hamas-run Gaza Strip early Thursday after Palestinians fired a rocket into southern Israel, the military said.

"Israel Air Force aircraft targeted three Hamas posts in the northern Gaza Strip," an army statement said.

Fire from Syria hit the Israeli-held zone of the Golan Heights on Wednesday, the military said, the latest in a string of incidents ratcheting up tension between the uneasy neighbors.

At least 12 rebels and three pro-government fighters were killed in fierce battles in southwestern Yemen on Wednesday, military sources said.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday he was in talks with Russia and the United States to turn up the pressure on all sides in Syria to guarantee the security of a U.N. aid convoy to Aleppo.

Ban said 20 trucks loaded with food and other needed supplies were still at the Turkish border with Syria awaiting the all-clear for the journey to the battered Syrian city.

An Israeli court on Wednesday gave a life sentence to the Palestinian killer of an off-duty Israeli soldier and ordered that he serve a minimum of 40 years behind bars.