Two Syrian doctors and a nurse told AFP in a series of interviews over the weekend that Bashar al-Assad's government coerced them into providing false testimony to international investigators after a deadly 2018 chlorine attack.

The three, who treated the wounded at a field hospital in the rebel-held town of Douma near Damascus after the April 7, 2018 attack, said they were summoned to national security headquarters in the capital.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told lawmakers on Monday that "some progress" had been made in negotiations to secure the release of hostages held in Gaza, more than 14 months into the war.

His comments in parliament came two days after Palestinian militant groups also talked of progress towards a ceasefire and hostage release deal.

In recent days, indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas mediated by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States took place in Doha, rekindling hope of an agreement that has proven elusive.

United Nations peacekeepers and Lebanon's prime minister called on Monday for the Israeli army to speed up its withdrawal from the country, nearly a month into a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

"UNIFIL strongly urges accelerated progress in the IDF's (Israeli military) withdrawal from and the LAF's (Lebanese army) deployment in south Lebanon," the force said in a statement.

It called on "all actors to cease and refrain from violations of (Security Council) resolution 1701 and any actions that could jeopardise the fragile stability that currently prevails".

Like many of his fellow Tunisians, 23-year-old Amine Elhani has never been to the cinema, but now, thanks to a mobile theatre touring the country, he can finally enjoy the big screen.

The bright red truck of CinemaTdour, or "moving cinema", has transformed parking lots and factory grounds in underserved towns and neighbourhoods across the North African country into pop-up theatres.

In the central town of Djemmal, dozens of workers unloaded the expandable truck, easily setting up a fully equipped outdoor movie theatre with 100 seats.

Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa held talks Monday with senior Arab diplomats expressing support for the Syrian people and discussing future cooperation, in the latest high-profile visits since Bashar al-Assad's overthrow.

Sharaa, whose Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) spearheaded the offensive that toppled Assad on December 8, has welcomed envoys from the Middle East and beyond in recent days, including Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Sunday.

Two Syrian doctors and a nurse told AFP in a series of interviews over the weekend that Bashar al-Assad's government coerced them into providing false testimony to international investigators after a deadly 2018 chlorine attack.

The three, who treated the wounded at a field hospital in the rebel-held town of Douma near Damascus after the April 7, 2018 attack, said they were summoned to national security headquarters.

Exhausted by more than 14 months of war, the wives and mothers of Israeli soldiers are uniting in protest against exemptions from conscription for ultra-Orthodox men.

For several Saturday evenings, the bridge over a key highway that runs between Bnei Brak, an ultra-Orthodox suburb of Tel Aviv, and Givat Shmuel, a bastion of religious Zionists whose sons and husbands proudly serve in the army, has been the scene of a tense standoff.

Just 12 trucks distributed food and water in northern Gaza in two-and-a-half months, aid group Oxfam said on Sunday, raising the alarm over the worsening humanitarian situation in the besieged Palestinian territory.

The Israeli authorities rejected the report, saying it was "deliberately and inaccurately" ignoring their humanitarian efforts.

Italy's Euro 2020 winning coach Roberto Mancini admitted Sunday that he had regrets over leaving the Italian national team to take control of Saudi Arabia.

Mancini left the Azzurri in August 2023 to take over as coach of the Saudis, but was fired from his role in October following a run of poor results during his 14-month stint in charge.

"If I could go back, I wouldn't take the decision to leave the Nazionale (Italian national team) again, because coaching this national team is the most beautiful thing," Mancini told public broadcaster Rai.

The visiting head of a UN investigative body for Syria said Sunday it was possible to find "more than enough" evidence to convict people of crimes against international law, but there was an immediate need to secure and preserve it.

The doors of Syria's prisons were flung open after an Islamist-led rebel alliance ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad this month, more than 13 years after his brutal repression of anti-government protests triggered a war that would kill more than 500,000 people.