Efforts to strike a Gaza truce and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas have repeatedly failed over key stumbling blocks, but recent negotiations have raised hope of an agreement.

On Tuesday, Washington expressed "cautious optimism" on the possibility of an "imminent deal".

This comes following reported indirect negotiations in Qatar, mediated by the gas-rich Gulf state along with Egypt and the United States.

Why the sudden optimism?

Visiting UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher called Wednesday for a massive aid boost for Syria to respond to "this moment of hope" after the ouster of longtime strongman Bashar al-Assad.

"Across the country, the needs are huge. Seven in 10 people are needing support right now," Fletcher told AFP in a telephone interview as he visited Syria.

"I want to scale up massively international support, but that now depends on donors. The Syria fund has been historically, shamefully underfunded and now there is this opportunity," he said.

A Syria war monitor said 21 pro-Turkey fighters were killed Wednesday after they attacked a Kurdish-held position near a flashpoint northern town despite a US-brokered ceasefire extension in the area.

The fighting between Turkish-backed factions and US-backed Kurdish-led forces comes more than a week after Islamist-led rebels toppled Syria's longtime strongman Bashar al-Assad.

Visiting UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher called Wednesday for a massive aid boost for Syria to respond to "this moment of hope" after the ouster of longtime strongman Bashar al-Assad.

"Across the country, the needs are huge. Seven in 10 people are needing support right now," Fletcher told AFP in a telephone interview as he visited Syria.

"I want to scale up massively international support, but that now depends on donors. The Syria fund has been historically, shamefully underfunded and now there is this opportunity," he said.

At the end of a winding road on a dusty hillside in the Israeli-annexed Golan, the yellow gates of Trump Heights slowly open for cars, passing a golden-lettered sign honouring the US president-elect.

Emblazoned with Israeli and US flags, the settlement is an homage to Donald Trump who in 2019 recognised Israel's sovereignty over the strategic plateau, making the United States the first, and so far only, country to do so.

A Saudi human rights activist appeared via a video link Wednesday at a UN forum in the kingdom to denounce the "silencing" of dissent under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Lina al-Hathloul's appearance at the Internet Governance Forum was a rare instance of an outspoken critic of Prince Mohammed, the de facto ruler, addressing a gathering on Saudi soil.

Human Rights Watch researcher Joey Shea described the panel and Hathloul's speech as "historic".

After losing hope of finding his two brothers among those freed from Syrian jails, Ziad Alaywi was filled with dread, knowing there was only one place they were likely to be: a mass grave.

"We want to know where our children are, our brothers," said the 55-year-old standing by a deep trench near Najha, southeast of Damascus.

"Were they killed? Are they buried here?" he asked, pointing to the ditch, one of several believed to hold the bodies of prisoners tortured to death.

International organisations have called these acts "crimes against humanity".

Human Rights Watch on Thursday accused Israel of committing "acts of genocide" in the Gaza Strip by damaging water infrastructure and cutting off supplies to civilians, which Israel dismissed as "appalling lies".

In a new report, which focused specifically on water, the New York-based rights group detailed what it said were deliberate efforts by Israeli authorities "of a systematic nature" to deprive Gazans of water, which had "likely caused thousands of deaths... and will likely continue to cause deaths".

The UN envoy to Syria called on Wednesday for "free and fair" elections after the ouster of president Bashar al-Assad, voicing hope for a political solution for Kurdish-held areas.

Assad fled Syria following a lightning offensive spearheaded by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), more than 13 years after his crackdown on democracy protests precipitated one of the deadliest wars of the century.

Tired and sad, Palestinian activist Fakhri Abu Diab stood amid the rubble of his home in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, just a narrow valley away from the famed domes of the Old City.

In early November, bulldozers from the Israeli-controlled Jerusalem municipality tore down his house in the Silwan neighbourhood for a second time, citing unauthorised construction.

"They want to expel us from the area," said the 62-year-old, who has organised protests against the demolitions in Silwan's Al-Bustan area.