Families of hostages held in Gaza have urged the United States and other governments with citizens among the captives to pressure Israel to strike a deal with Hamas for their return.

Following indications Monday of progress in talks towards a truce in the seven-month war, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said it had appealed to a number of countries to "exert your influence on the Israeli government" and push for an agreement.

As well as killing more than 34,000 people and causing catastrophic levels of hunger and injury, the seven-month war between Israel and Hamas has also caused massive material destruction in Gaza.

"The rate of damage being registered is unlike anything we have studied before. It is much faster and more extensive than anything we have mapped," said Corey Scher, a PhD candidate at the City University of New York, who has been researching satellite imagery of Gaza.

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi on Tuesday called on Iran to adopt "concrete" measures to help bolster cooperation on the country's nuclear programme.

At a news conference in the Iranian city of Isfahan, Grossi said he had proposed in talks with Iranian officials that they "focus on the very concrete, very practical and tangible measures that can be implemented in order to accelerate" cooperation.

Grossi held discussions with senior Iranian officials including the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran chief Mohammad Eslami.

Al Jazeera will look to pursue all possible legal action "until the end" to challenge Israel's ban on its operations there, the TV network's news director told AFP in an interview.

The Qatar-based station was taken off air in Israel after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government voted on Sunday to shut it down over its coverage of the Gaza war.

Speaking on Monday, Al Jazeera English news director Salah Negm said the network would "follow every legal path", adding: "If there is a possibility of challenging that decision we are going to pursue it until the end."

The killing of the brilliant young AFP journalist Arman Soldin on the front lines in Ukraine one year ago remains a uniquely traumatic event for all of us.

There is nothing more painful for a newsroom than to lose a friend and colleague in the line of fire.

Arman had proved both his talent as a video storyteller and his unbridled commitment to his craft. He was passionate about giving a voice to the ordinary people caught up in the tumult of war.

His death at 32 was not just a crime, it was a great loss to journalism.

Student protests to demand that universities break ties with Israel over the Gaza war spread across Europe on Tuesday, with police breaking up demonstrations in the Netherlands, Germany and France.

Students at some elite European universities, inspired by ongoing demonstrations at US campuses, have been occupying university halls and facilities, demanding an end to partnerships with Israeli institutions because of Israel's punishing assault on Gaza.

Oil giant Saudi Aramco said Tuesday its first-quarter net profit dipped 14.5 percent on year to $27.27 billion as the Gulf kingdom kept production cuts in place.

Despite lower profit, the firm said it would pay $31 billion in dividends to the Saudi government and other shareholders as the kingdom pursues expensive mega-projects to diversify its oil-reliant economy.

Net income was 102.27 billion riyals ($27.27 billion), down from 119.54 billion riyals ($31.88 billion) for the same period in 2023, Aramco said in a filing with the Saudi stock market.

The Israeli army said it took "operational control" of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt on Tuesday and that troops were scanning the area.

"Last night, IDF (army) troops managed to establish operational control of the Gazan side of (Rafah) crossing," the main entry point for aid deliveries to the besieged territory, the military said in a briefing.

Oil giant Saudi Aramco announced first-quarter net profit of $27.27 billion on Tuesday, down 14.5 percent from last year as the Gulf kingdom kept production cuts in place.

Net income was 102.27 billion riyals ($27.27 billion), down from 119.54 billion riyals ($31.88 billion) for the same quarter in 2023, Aramco said, adding that "the decrease was primarily a result of lower crude oil volume sold".

The world's biggest crude exporter is currently producing roughly nine million barrels per day (bpd), well below its capacity of 12 million bpd.

Israel sent tanks into Rafah in southern Gaza, seizing the border crossing with Egypt Tuesday in an operation the United Nations said denied it access to the key humanitarian passage.

The thrust into the eastern sector of Rafah, packed with displaced civilians, came as negotiators and mediators met in Cairo in another effort to forge a hostage release and truce in the seven-month war.

A senior Hamas official, requesting anonymity, warned this would be Israel's "last chance" to free the estimated 128 captives still held in Gaza, including 36 officials say are dead.