Hundreds of people were taken by Islamic State group fighters from a displacement camp in east Syria during a jihadist counterattack against advancing US-backed forces, a monitor said Saturday.

The jihadists raided the camp on Friday, taking "more than 100 families" including relatives of IS defectors and of jihadists killed in fighting, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

A Taliban delegation has met with US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad in Qatar to discuss ending the Afghan conflict, the militant group said Saturday, in the first official confirmation of talks between the two sides.

IMF chief Christine Lagarde said Saturday she was "horrified" by reports about the fate of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi but she still plans to attend an economic meeting in Riyadh this month.

The United Nations, Israel and Syria reached an agreement to reopen the Quneitra crossing in the Golan Heights on Monday, the United States announced Friday, urging the two Middle East countries to facilitate the work of peacekeepers in the zone.

A delegation of a dozen Saudi officials was in Turkey on Saturday for talks on the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi after Riyadh slammed as "baseless lies" Turkish accusations he was killed inside its Istanbul consulate.

The disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at a Saudi diplomatic mission in Turkey has fueled calls for the United States to reconsider arms sales to the kingdom that have been championed by President Donald Trump.

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Saturday that he still planned to attend an economic meeting in Riyadh this month, but would keep his eye on a probe into the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

An Israeli court on Friday upheld a ban on a U.S. student refused entry and held for 10 days over her alleged support for a pro-Palestinian boycott campaign.

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Friday ordered an "immediate" halt to deliveries of fuel to the Gaza Strip after violent clashes with Palestinians on the Gaza-Israel border.

Six Palestinians were killed in new clashes along the Gaza-Israel border on Friday, the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave said.

The Israeli army said five were shot dead after breaking through the border fence and attacking an army post.