A second group of rebel fighters left the southern Syrian city of Daraa Thursday under a Russian-brokered truce aimed at ending the region's worst fighting in years, a monitor said.

Daraa, seen as the birthplace of Syria's uprising in 2011 and held for years by opposition forces, was returned to government control in 2018 under a previous Moscow-backed ceasefire that had allowed rebels to stay in some areas of Daraa province.

The family of Palestinian activist Nizar Banat, who died in Palestinian custody in June, has stepped up its quest for international justice, turning to British police and the U.N.

Banat -- a leading critic of the Palestinian Authority and its 86-year old president Mahmud Abbas -- died after security forces stormed his home in the flashpoint city of Hebron and dragged him away.

Morocco is to close its embassy in Algiers on Friday, an official source said, after Algeria severed ties with the kingdom over what it said were "hostile actions".

From Friday, the embassy "will close, and the ambassador and all staff will be repatriated to Rabat", the Moroccan source told AFP on Thursday.

Algeria said Thursday it was ready to divert all its Spain-bound natural gas exports via an undersea pipeline that bypasses Morocco, state media said, two days after Algiers cut ties with its North African rival.

In a meeting with Spanish Ambassador Fernando Moran, Energy Minister Mohamed Arkab stressed "Algeria's full commitment to cover all of Spain's natural gas supplies through the Medgaz" pipeline, said a statement quoted by the official APS news agency.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is aiming to dissuade President Joe Biden from returning to the Iran nuclear deal when the two leaders meet at the White House Friday.

The meeting, originally scheduled for Thursday, was postponed for one day as Biden focused his attention on dealing with the aftermath of a suicide bomb attack at the Kabul airport that killed at least 13 U.S. troops.

Israel said that it would be easing commercial restrictions on the Gaza Strip and expand entry of goods to the Palestinian enclave following days of heightened tensions.

The announcement came after hundreds of Palestinians demonstrated Wednesday near the Israeli border, calling on Israel to ease a crippling blockade days after a similar gathering ended in deadly clashes with the Israeli army.

Few Palestinians in the occupied West Bank get to board an airplane these days. The territory has no civilian airport and those who can afford a plane ticket must catch their flights in neighboring Jordan. But just outside the northern city of Nablus, a pair of twins is offering people the next best thing.

Khamis al-Sairafi and brother Ata have converted an old Boeing 707 into a café and restaurant for customers to board.

Morocco regrets the "completely unjustified" decision of neighboring Algeria to break off diplomatic relations, the country's Foreign Affairs Ministry said Wednesday, calling some of Algeria's reasons "absurd."

Algeria cited a series of alleged hostile acts for the cutting of ties when it announced the decision on Tuesday,.

Hundreds of Palestinians on Wednesday demonstrated near the Israeli border in the southern Gaza Strip, calling on Israel to ease a crippling blockade days after a similar gathering ended in deadly clashes with the Israeli army.

The demonstration wrapped up without a repeat of Saturday's intense clashes after Hamas kept the crowds from approaching the separation wall.

President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett are set to hold their first face-to-face meeting Thursday, and Israel's new leader intends to press Biden to give up pursuit of reviving the Iran nuclear deal.

Before arriving in Washington, Bennett made clear the top priority of the visit to the White House was to persuade Biden not to return to the nuclear accord, arguing Iran has already advanced in its uranium enrichment, and that sanctions relief would give Iran more resources to back Israel's enemies in the region.