A car bomb blast killed at least five people on Wednesday in the rebel-held Syrian town of Azaz by the Turkish border, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Human Rights Watch on Wednesday called on Gaza's Hamas rulers to release two Israeli citizens with a history of mental illness believed to have been detained by the militants, saying their extended detention and isolation was "cruel and indefensible."

In a detailed report based on interviews with the men's families and with Israeli and Palestinian officials, the New York-based group said Avera Mangistu and Hisham al-Sayed likely wandered into Gaza on foot and had no connection to hostilities between Israel and Gaza. Hamas has indirectly acknowledged holding them but will not provide confirmation until Israel releases dozens of its jailed members.

President Donald Trump will play peacemaker at the White House on Wednesday, meeting with Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas as part of an effort to end the long-running Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

After hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in February, the self-styled deal-maker-in-chief will host Abbas for the first time since coming to office.

Saudi Arabia's deputy crown prince said Tuesday in a rare and wide-ranging interview that there is no space for dialogue with rival Iran due to its Shiite ambitions "to control the Islamic world."

The interview, which aired on multiple Saudi TV channels, offered a glimpse into how Mohammed bin Salman views the kingdom's top rival. It also laid bare the breadth of his portfolio and powers.

Hamas' armed wing on Tuesday gave Israel 24 hours to respond to the demands of hunger-striking prisoners, warning the Jewish state it would face consequences for failure to act.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin discussed steps to ease Syria's civil war, in what the White House described as a "very good call" Tuesday.

"President Trump and President Putin agreed that the suffering in Syria has gone on for far too long and that all parties must do all they can to end the violence," the White House said after the two men spoke.

President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday called for shoring up Syria's frail truce as Russian-led peace talks involving Syrian rebels and regime officials are set to begin Wednesday in Kazakhstan's capital Astana.

The head of Libya's U.N.-backed unity government on Tuesday held a rare meeting with a military strongman who supports a rival authority in the violence-wracked country, official media said.

Hamas has softened its stance on Israel after long calling for its destruction, but the Palestinian movement must do more to convince the world to end its isolation, analysts and diplomats said Tuesday.

At least 32 people were killed on Tuesday in an Islamic State group attack near a refugee camp on the Syrian side of the border with Iraq, a monitor said. 

"At least five suicide attackers blew themselves up outside and inside a camp for Iraqi refugees and displaced Syrians in Hasakeh province," Syrian Observatory for Human Rights chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.