Egypt's president held talks in Cairo on Thursday with the King of Jordan and the president of the Palestinian Authority aimed at reviving the Middle East peace process and strengthening a ceasefire that halted the Israel-Hamas war.

Egypt's Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, King Abdullah II of Jordan and the Palestinian Authority's Mahmoud Abbas discussed the elusive two-state solution to the conflict with Israel, according to a statement from el-Sissi's office. The three leaders said the Palestinians have a right to an independent state, with East Jerusalem as its capital. Israel staunchly opposes such a plan.

The historic Khan al-Harir souk in war-torn Syria's erstwhile economic capital of Aleppo has reopened following restoration work, but much of the former workforce that energized it remains exiled.

"Reconstruction works are done and this is great, but it's not enough," said Ahmed al-Shib, a 55-year-old textile merchant who had hoped to pass his business onto his sons.

Israeli missile strikes hit military positions used by pro-Iran groups near the Syrian capital Damascus overnight, a war monitor said Friday.

Sixty-five Huthi rebels and pro-government forces have been killed in renewed fighting for the strategic Yemeni city of Marib, a military official told AFP on Thursday.

The clashes erupted when the Iran-backed rebels attacked pro-government positions south of the city, making progress despite losing dozens of fighters in coalition air strikes.

Israel's foreign minister on Wednesday played down criticism of the country's regulation of the cyberespionage firm NSO Group but vowed to step up efforts to ensure the company's controversial spyware doesn't fall into the wrong hands.

Speaking to foreign journalists, Yair Lapid said the government has only limited control over how defense exports are used by customers. Yet he said that Israel is committed to enforcing and strengthening safeguards to prevent abuse of all types of weapons.

Hundreds of people on Wednesday mourned the death of a man Palestinian health officials said was killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank.

Raed Jadallah, 39, a resident of Beit Ur al-Tahta near Ramallah, was buried on Wednesday.

A Russian-negotiated cease-fire took effect Wednesday in a volatile southern city, according to the Syrian opposition and state media.

Violence in the area in recent weeks between government forces and opposition fighters had threatened to undo years of relative calm along the borders with Israel and Jordan.

Palestinian health authorities are launching a vaccination drive for students in the Gaza Strip ages 16-18 as the territory contends with a third wave of coronavirus infections.

Health officials began giving the Pfizer vaccine in Gaza Strip schools on Wednesday and aim to inoculate more than 100,000 students in the coming weeks. Palestinian officials in the occupied West Bank began a similar drive on Tuesday.

A drone attack on Saudi Arabia's Abha airport wounded eight people on Tuesday, said the Saudi-led coalition battling Huthi rebels in neighboring Yemen.

Following an earlier reported attack, "a second drone attempting to attack Abha International Airport was intercepted and shot down", the coalition said in a statement carried by the kingdom's official Al-Ekhbariya television channel.

Tunisia issued an arrest warrant Tuesday for former presidential candidate Nabil Karoui and his brother, authorities said, a day after reports that they were detained in neighboring Algeria.

Karoui was runner-up in Tunisia's 2019 presidential election, a poll won by Kais Saied, who in July this year suspended parliament and granted himself sweeping presidential powers.