Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman has summoned a meeting of top Israeli planning officials for next week to expand Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, his office said Thursday.

Syrian regime forces on Thursday battled to reach troops trapped in rebel bastion Eastern Ghouta, as a monitor said at least 28 civilians were killed in Russian and government bombardments.

Russia's defence ministry on Thursday said two servicemen were killed in a mortar attack by Islamist militants in Syria on New Year's Eve, but denied media reports seven military planes were destroyed. 

Israel's military said Thursday it was opening an investigation into the death of a wheelchair-bound Gazan man, with Palestinian officials saying he was shot by a sniper during clashes with Israeli forces.

At least 28 civilians have been killed by bombardment in the besieged Syrian opposition stronghold of Eastern Ghouta, near Damascus, most of them in Russian air raids, a monitor said.

Israeli air strikes targeted a site in the Gaza Strip overnight in response to rocket fire from the Palestinian enclave, with no injuries reported, the military and Gazan security sources said on Thursday.

Saudi-led air strikes have killed dozens of rebels and civilians in the past 24 hours in Yemen's flashpoint province of Hodeida, medical sources said on Thursday.

Norway on Wednesday announced it has suspended arms and ammunition exports to the United Arab Emirates because of the nation's involvement in the Yemen war. 

A Russian helicopter crashed in Syria on New Year's Eve killing both pilots following a technical fault, Moscow's defence ministry said Wednesday.

Palestinian leaders said Wednesday they will not be "blackmailed" after US President Donald Trump threatened to cut aid worth more than $300 million annually, his latest provocative move that could upturn years of careful diplomacy.