Israel's killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar dealt a huge blow to the Palestinian group, and while it leaves a gaping void at the top of the movement, its militants remain determined to fight.

Sinwar masterminded the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the Gaza war, and became the leader of Hamas in August after the death of his predecessor, Ismail Haniyeh.

While Israel has hailed Sinwar's killing as a major win, analysts say Hamas could use his legacy to mobilise a new generation of militants, who grew up suffering the consequences of Israel's retaliatory war.

The killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is a political victory for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but divisions remain in Israel over his strategy for securing the release of hostages.

More than a year after the Islamist group's unprecedented attack, the Israeli military said on Thursday that Sinwar was killed in a surprise firefight with a group of Israeli soldiers in southern Gaza on Wednesday.

The announcement sparked celebrations in Israel but many remained worried about the fate of hostages still held in Gaza more than a year after their capture.

When Israel bombed the Lebanese-Syrian border, it cut off a key route for many in Syria who rely on it as a vital link to the outside world.

For years, Lebanon's main border crossing with Syria has served as a key access point for international travel, healthcare and purchasing imported goods.

Today, those who wish to use the crossing known as Masnaa must climb down into and walk across a massive crater in the road, which is 10 metres (32 feet) deep and 30 metres (nearly 100 feet) wide.

The one million children in Gaza are living a "hell on Earth", the UN said Friday, with around 40 children having been killed there every day over the past year.

More than a year into Israel's war against Hamas in the besieged Palestinian territory "children continue to suffer unspeakable daily harm", said James Elder, spokesman for the United Nations children's agency UNICEF.

"Gaza is the real-world embodiment of hell on Earth for its one million children," he told reporters in Geneva. "And it's getting worse, day by day."

The killing of Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar brought no respite for Palestinians in Gaza, as Israeli air strikes and shelling continued unabated in the territory already devastated by more than a year of war.

Raids continued in the besieged enclave in the hours after Israel announced the death of the militant leader they have long accused of masterminding the October 7 attack last year -- a key war aim for Israel.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday faced accusations of seeking to reduce the media to merely reproducing press releases after blaming journalists, ministers and commentators for the furore over comments attributed to him on Israel.

A visibly furious Macron late Thursday began his press conference after an EU summit in Brussels with a tirade against those who he accused of distorting remarks made in a closed-door cabinet meeting and showing a "lack of professionalism" in their work.

Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati offered a rare rebuke of Iran on Friday, charging it with "blatant interference" over remarks attributed to its parliament speaker about a UN resolution on Hezbollah and Lebanon.

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which was adopted in 2006 and calls for only the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers to be deployed in southern Lebanon, has come into focus during the latest Israel-Hezbollah war.

The Israeli military said its troops killed two armed assailants on Friday who had crossed into Israel from Jordan and lightly wounded two soldiers, in a rare attack in the border area.

"Two terrorists who crossed from Jordan into Israeli territory south of the Dead Sea were eliminated by IDF (army) soldiers," a military statement said, adding that a third attacker was thought to have fled the scene.

After months of disappointment, US President Joe Biden's administration sees new hope for reaching a Gaza ceasefire after Israel killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, but the upcoming US elections cast a shadow on prospects for a breakthrough.

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who is running in a tight race for the White House against Donald Trump, both described the elimination of Sinwar as an opportunity to end a year of war, with Biden announcing that Secretary of State Antony Blinken will return to the Middle East.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday accused Iran-backed Hezbollah of trying to assassinate him, with the Middle East already on edge after Israel had vowed retaliation for an Iranian missile barrage.

An official in Gaza said an Israeli strike in north Gaza had killed at least 73 people late Saturday, with many more feared trapped under the rubble. Israel said it had hit a "Hamas terror target".

Netanyahu's office said a drone was launched towards his residence in the central town of Caesarea but he and his wife were not home and there were no injuries.