Israeli warplanes are striking Gaza ahead of an expected ground offensive in the besieged territory. Fears of a widening war have grown as Israel struck targets in the occupied West Bank, Syria and Lebanon and traded fire with Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group.

Two aid convoys arrived in the Gaza Strip over the weekend through the Rafah crossing from Egypt. Israel said the trucks carried food, water and medical supplies. Israel has not allowed in fuel, which is critically needed for water and sanitation systems and hospitals.

The United States warned Iran or its allies against any "escalation" in the wake of Israel's war with Hamas, two top U.S. officials said, hours after the Pentagon moved to step up military readiness in the region.

With tensions mounting, Washington also announced Sunday it had ordered non-emergency staff to leave its embassy in Iraq.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced late Saturday he was sending additional air defense systems to the Middle East as well as putting more troops on prepare-to-deploy orders.

Austin said the U.S. would be delivering a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, battery along with additional Patriot missile defense system batteries “to locations throughout the region to increase force protection for U.S. troops.” Bases in Iraq and Syria have been repeatedly targeted by drones in the days since hundreds were killed in a hospital blast in Gaza, and the destroyer USS Carney intercepted land attack cruise missiles in the Red Sea shot from Yemen on Thursday.

Qatar, a key power in the efforts to release hostages seized by Hamas from Israel, believes they can be released "very soon" thanks to ongoing discussions, a Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman told the German Welt am Sonntag newspaper.

Doha's mediation played a key role in the release on Friday evening of two American hostages who had been held since the Palestinian militant group's attack against Israel on October 7, with the Gulf state adding that it was in talks with Israel and Hamas.

A suicide drone hit an airbase in Iraq hosting US troops, Iraqi security sources said, but the Pentagon said it could not confirm that such an attack took place.

Israeli warplanes struck targets across Gaza overnight and into Sunday, as well as two airports in Syria and a mosque in the occupied West Bank allegedly used by militants, as the two-week-old war with Hamas threatened to spiral into a broader conflict.

Israel has traded fire with Lebanon's Hezbollah on a near-daily basis since the war began, and tensions are soaring in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces have battled militants in refugee camps and carried out two airstrikes in recent days.

Police in Cyprus said Saturday they arrested four Syrians on suspicion of setting off a small explosive device that caused no damage not far from Israeli Embassy in the capital Nicosia.

Police said the four, ranging in ages between 17 and 21, face charges of attempted destruction of property using explosives, possession and use of explosives and possession of a knife.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Saturday suggested a "roadmap" to end the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.

"I have invited you today to discuss... a roadmap... that would begin by guaranteeing the complete, secure, fast and sustainable flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza's residents, followed by immediate negotiations over pacification and a ceasefire," al-Sisi said at the opening of a summit in Cairo with the leaders of regional countries and senior Western officials.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said he welcomes the release of two U.S. hostages held by Hamas and shared in the families’ relief but noted there are many more captives, including children and elderly people.

Speaking to reporters, Blinken said he and President Joe Biden had been able to speak with the families of some of the hostages during their trips to the Middle East.

A group of Iranian-backed militias in Iraq said U.S. forces “must leave immediately” or their bases in Iraq and elsewhere in the region will continue to come under attack.

Militant groups have launched rocket and drone attacks in recent days against U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria, most of which were claimed by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq. The group has said the attacks are retaliation for Washington’s support of Israel and a warning not to intervene in the Israel-Hamas war.