French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that a "return to normal" in Syria that left its leader Bashar al-Assad in power would be a "grotesque error," in comments seemingly directed at his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

"We can see those who would like to return to normal as soon as the war against Daesh (the Islamic State group) is finished: Bashar al-Assad would stay in power, the refugees... will return and Europe and few others would help with reconstruction," Macron said.

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland refused to give ground in a dispute with Saudi Arabia on Monday, saying her country would "always stand up for human rights around the world".

The presidents of Iran, Russia, and Turkey will meet on September 7 in Iran for their third tripartite summit on seeking to end the conflict in Syria, Turkish state television said Monday.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will travel to Iran to meet with his Russian and Iranian counterparts Vladimir Putin and Hassan Rouhani, state-run TRT Haber television said. Private NTV television added the summit would be held in the northern Iranian city of Tabriz.

Israel reopened its only crossing for people with the Gaza Strip on Monday, a week after shutting it over violence along the border with the Palestinian enclave.

The defence ministers of Iran and Syria have signed an agreement on military cooperation and reconstruction in the war-torn country, Iranian media reported on Monday. 

Iran's top defense official met with his Syrian counterpart in Damascus on Sunday, hailing their strong ties and pledging to play a role in the war-torn country's reconstruction.

A senior U.S. diplomat has visited Kurdish-held territory in Syria as the minority negotiates with Damascus over the future of its semi-autonomous region. 

Ambassador William Roebuck was in the town of Shadidi in the northwestern province of Hasakeh after visiting the towns of Kobane and Minbej in recent days.

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is resorting to "cheap blackmail" against the Palestinians, revealing its true intentions by cutting more than $200 million in aid for the West Bank and Gaza Strip, senior Palestinian officials have said.

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for a deadly attack earlier this week on a checkpoint in western Libya, as Libyan authorities announced the arrest of the suspected perpetrators.

More than a year since the Islamic State group's expulsion from Mosul, Sana Ibrahim bears daily hardship to look after her 22 grandchildren, after losing five family members during the jihadists' occupation of the Iraqi city.