Yemen's rebel chief vowed Wednesday never to surrender to Saudi-backed pro-government forces, but appeared to acknowledge his forces had lost ground in a battle for the port city of Hodeida.

"Does the enemy think that penetrating this or that area, or seizing this or that area, means we will be convinced that we should surrender and hand over control?" Abdulmalik al-Huthi said in a televised address.

Israel's transport minister on Wednesday pitched plans to link the Mediterranean to the Gulf via the Jewish state, as his country pushes unprecedented public rapprochement with the Arab region.

The United Nations on Wednesday welcomed a Syrian regime plan to allow Palestinians back home to the ravaged Damascus suburb of Yarmuk after expelling jihadists.

Tens of thousands of pre-war residents have been unable to return to the large Palestinian refugee camp in the south of the capital since regime forces ousted the Islamic State group in May.

International aid groups on Wednesday appealed for safe passage for civilians in Yemen, as a battle between rebels and government forces nears one of the country's most densely populated cities.

The U.N. children's fund (UNICEF), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Doctors Without Borders called for the protection of civilians in the Red Sea port city of Hodeida, as clashes approach civilian hospitals.

At least 45 Islamic State group fighters have been killed around their last enclave in Syria despite a pause in a two-month Kurdish-led assault, a monitor said on Wednesday.

Qatar has announced it will provide temporary support to 50,000 impoverished Gaza families as mediators attempt to broker a truce between the Palestinian territory's Islamist rulers Hamas and Israel.

Yemeni pro-government forces said Wednesday they had advanced closer to the rebel-held port city of Hodeida after fierce battles that have killed nearly 200 fighters in the past week.

US whistleblower Edward Snowden urged Israelis to be on guard against heavy-handed government and private surveillance in a speech by video link Tuesday and defended his 2013 massive leak of classified documents.

Qatar's ruler said Tuesday "crises pass" but warned of "long-lasting" scars from an acrimonious diplomatic dispute that has seen Doha isolated by Saudi Arabia and its allies for more than a year.

Saudi King Salman embarked on an unprecedented domestic tour on Tuesday, an official said, as the country grapples with an international crisis over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The 82-year-old monarch arrived in the central province of Qassim, an official close to his entourage told AFP, as he started what Saudi media said was a tour of "several regions" in the kingdom.