Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the flashpoint al-Aqsa mosque compound Sunday, Israeli police said, a controversial move by the extreme-right politician amid heightened tensions in annexed east Jerusalem.

One man is revered in Western capitals for standing up to Russia's full-scale invasion of his country.

In a field close to the Gaza Strip's restive frontier, apiarist Miassar Khoudair checks that her queen bee has survived five days of deadly cross-border fire between Palestinian militants and the Israeli army.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused some Arab leaders of ignoring the horrors of Russia's invasion of his country during a speech Friday at an Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia.

"Unfortunately, there are some in the world and here, among you, who turn a blind eye to those cages and illegal annexations," Zelensky told summit attendees, urging them to "take an honest look" at the war.

Arab leaders welcomed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad back into the fold Friday at a summit in Saudi Arabia that is also expected to confront conflicts across the Middle East and beyond.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has also travelled to the Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah for a meeting of the 22-member Arab League, highlighting host Saudi Arabia's desire to wield global diplomatic clout.

Saudi Arabia hosted an Arab League summit on Friday in which Syrian President Bashar Assad was welcomed back after a 12-year suspension and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a surprise visit to rally support against Russia.

Russian airstrikes have left a swath of destruction across both countries, but in Syria they came at Assad's invitation and helped him cling to power through years of grinding civil war. Other Arab states have deepened ties with Moscow while remaining largely neutral on the Ukraine war.

Thousands of Jewish nationalists, some of them chanting "Death to Arabs" and other racist slogans, have paraded through the main Palestinian thoroughfare of Jerusalem's Old City, in an annual display that caused new friction between Jews and Palestinians in the tense city.

The marchers, who were overwhelmingly male Orthodox teens and young men, were celebrating "Jerusalem Day," which marks Israel's capture of the Old City 56 years ago. The Palestinians see the event as a provocation. Two years ago, the parade helped fuel an 11-day war between Israel and Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.

Tunisian President Kais Saied has hosted Jewish, Muslim and Christian leaders following a deadly mass shooting outside a local synagogue, telling them Tunisia was a country of "tolerance and coexistence".

Tributes to Syrian culture are everywhere at Riyadh's Damascu Cafe –- from the traditional bean stew on the menu to folk songs that pour from the speakers, name-checking the war-torn country's cities and towns.

There's even a staffer who was hired for his resemblance to beloved Syrian comedian Duraid Lahham, and who spends long shifts posing for selfies with homesick customers

The U.N. envoy for Yemen has expressed "cautious optimism" that the country's warring parties will return to U.N.-led negotiations to end their deadly eight-year conflict.

Hans Grundberg told the U.N. Security Council he is confident last month's prisoner releases agreed to by the government and rival Houthi rebels will "build further confidence between the parties" and support an environment conducive for dialogue.