The main rebel groups in Syria's Eastern Ghouta said Tuesday they would be willing to expel jihadist fighters from the enclave as soon as a U.N. ceasefire takes effect.

Israel on Tuesday claimed that a Palestinian teenager's severe head injury was caused by a bicycle accident and not an Israeli bullet, sparking angry comments from activists and his family.

Fighting raged on in Syria's Eastern Ghouta on Tuesday, making relief operations in the rebel enclave impossible despite a "humanitarian pause" announced by Russia, the United Nations said. 

Iran said on Tuesday that the vetoing of a UN resolution that would have criticised its role in Yemen represented another setback for the United States. 

The church in Jerusalem built at the traditional site of Jesus's burial remained closed for a third day Tuesday as Christian leaders protested against Israeli tax measures and a controversial proposed law.

The United States pressed Russia on Monday to use its "influence" to secure an "immediate" full-fledged halt to a bloody offensive in Syria's rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta.

A humanitarian "pause" announced by Russia in Syria's deadly bombardment of Eastern Ghouta struggled to take hold Tuesday, with fresh violence erupting and no sign of aid deliveries or residents leaving the besieged enclave.

Saudi Arabia has replaced top military commanders, including its chief of staff, in the latest move to bring fresh blood into the kingdom's upper ranks.

French President Emmanuel Macron told his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday that a proposed UN ceasefire for Syria must be applied across the country, including in Afrin where Turkey is waging an offensive against a Kurdish militia.

Moscow on Monday said reports of an alleged chemical attack on Syria's rebel-held Eastern Ghouta were planted "bogus stories" and insisted armed groups attacked by regime forces there were terrorist allies.