Shops and markets in central Tehran, usually teeming with customers ahead of the Persian New Year, now barely see any buyers, a sombre reflection of the dire state of the Iranian economy.

The plummeting currency and double-digit inflation, which have reduced the number of holiday shoppers to a trickle, were behind a parliament vote on Sunday to remove finance minister Abdolnaser Hemmati.

At Tehran's Grand Bazaar, underwear vendor Mohsen said that "business is going very badly. I cannot describe how catastrophic it is."

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened Hamas on Monday with unimaginable consequences if it did not return hostages held in Gaza, while the Palestinian group accused his government of sabotaging the fragile truce there.

The first phase of the ceasefire ended over the weekend, but talks on its future have hit an impasse after six weeks of relative calm in the Gaza Strip that included exchanges of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners and an influx of badly needed aid.

A stabbing attack at a transport station in the Israeli city of Haifa left one person dead and several wounded on Monday, medics said, in what police called a "terror attack" whose perpetrator was killed.

"A terrorist exited a bus, stabbed multiple civilians, and was subsequently neutralised by a security guard and a civilian at the scene," the police said in a statement.

It said the perpetrator was a member of Israel's Druze minority from the northern Israeli town of Shfaram who had returned to Israel last week after several months abroad.

From a Bond villain lair in the rugged heights overlooking Damascus, the all-seeing eye of a notorious Syrian military unit gazed down on a city it bled dry.

Many of the bases of the elite Fourth Division formerly run by toppled president Bashar al-Assad's feared younger brother Maher now lie looted.

But papers left strewn behind reveal how the man they called "The Master" and his cronies wallowed in immense wealth while some of their foot soldiers struggled to feed their families and even begged on the streets.

Israel on Sunday blocked aid flowing into Gaza, where a six-week truce enabled the entry of vital food, shelter and medical assistance, prompting the UN to call for an immediate restoration of humanitarian assistance.

The Israeli decision came as talks on a truce extension appeared to hit an impasse, after the ceasefire's 42-day first phase drew to a close.

Iran's parliament sacked the country's finance minister on Sunday after impeaching him over soaring inflation and a plunging currency, state television reported.

Economy and finance minister Abdolnaser Hemmati lost a vote of confidence, with 182 of 273 parliamentarians present backing his removal.

On the black market on Sunday, the Iranian rial was trading at more than 920,000 to the US dollar, compared with less than 600,000 in mid-2024.

A highly anticipated trial of several prominent Tunisian opposition figures accused of plotting against state security is set to start Tuesday, with critics and rights groups denouncing it as unfair and politically motivated.

The case has named around 40 high-profile defendants -- including former diplomats, politicians, lawyers and media figures -- some of whom have been outspoken critics of President Kais Saied.

Many were detained following a flurry of arrests in February 2023, after Saied dubbed them "terrorists".

A red-covered table stretching several hundred metres carved a path through mounds of rubble in southern Gaza on Saturday, as families gathered to break their fast during the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

As the sun set over a neighbourhood in Rafah, where fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants has left barely a handful of buildings standing, hundreds of Gazans of all ages dug into their Iftar meal marking the end of the day's fast.

Outlawed Kurdish militants on Saturday declared a ceasefire with Turkey following a landmark call by jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan asking the group to disband and end more than four decades of armed struggle.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who backed the peace process initiated by a close nationalist ally, warned Turkey would pursue anti-PKK fight unless the group kept their pledge to disband.

Israel endorsed a proposal on Sunday to temporarily extend the truce in Gaza as a bridging measure after the first phase of its ceasefire with Hamas drew to a close.

The first phase of a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas was set to expire over the weekend without any certainty as to the second phase, which is hoped to bring a more permanent end to the Gaza war.

Negotiations have so far been inconclusive, with the fate of hostages still held in Gaza and the lives of more than two million Palestinians hanging in the balance.