Palestinian advocacy groups said Thursday that the head of orthopaedics at Gaza's largest hospital Al-Shifa has died in Israeli custody, alleging he had been tortured during his detention.

Doctor Adnan Ahmed Atiya al-Barsh died at the Israeli-run Ofer prison in the occupied West Bank last month, the Palestinian Prisoners Affairs Committee and the Palestinian Prisoners Club said in a joint statement.

Contacted by AFP about the reported death in custody, the Israeli army said: "We are currently not aware of such (an) incident."

Dozens of overturned tents, "Free Palestine" signs strewn on the lawn, keffiyehs and flashlights discarded in haste: not much of the pro-Palestinian protest encampment was left Thursday morning at the University of California, Los Angeles.

After a week of occupying a central area of the sprawling campus in protest at Israel's war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, police in riot gear forcibly removed demonstrators in an operation that lasted through the night.

In tense scenes, officers used flashbang explosions to disorient protesters and disperse crowds.

The United Nations said on Thursday Gaza's post-war reconstruction would require an international effort unseen since the aftermath of World War II, estimating it could cost up to $40 billion.

It came as Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh struck an optimistic tone over a possible truce and hostage release deal, after weeks of largely stalled negotiations.

There have been reports of sticking points between the militant group and Israel nearly seven months into the war that has devastated the Palestinian territory.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen Thursday announced $1 billion in aid to Lebanon to help tackle illegal migration, as rights groups warned against forced returns to Syria.

The European Union has already agreed deals with Egypt, Tunisia, Mauritania and others aimed at helping stem flows of irregular migrants.

"I can announce a financial package of $1 billion for Lebanon that would be available from this year until 2027," the European Commission chief said, adding that "we want to contribute to Lebanon's socio-economic stability".

Top US diplomat Antony Blinken has urged Hamas to accept a Gaza truce plan despite an Israeli warning that the army will keep fighting the Palestinian militant group after any ceasefire.

Mediators have proposed a truce deal that would halt fighting for 40 days and exchange dozens of hostages for many more Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas has said it will respond "within a very short period" to the proposal.

"Hamas needs to say yes and needs to get this done," Blinken said Wednesday while in Israel on his seventh Middle East crisis tour since the war broke out in October.

In the heart of sun-soaked Morocco, scientists are cultivating a future where tough crops defy a relentless drought, now in its sixth year.

"Look at these beautiful ears of wheat," said Wuletaw Tadesse Degu, the head of wheat breeding at the International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA).

"The difference in quality between our field and others is striking," he said, pointing towards a lush expanse in Marchouch, south of Rabat, that stood in stark contrast with the barren lands elsewhere.

What does Joe Biden have to say about the rowdy student protests against Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza that have rocked American college campuses in recent weeks? Almost nothing.

The US president has so far avoided the contentious subject as it is likely to complicate his reelection campaign.

President Gustavo Petro said Wednesday Colombia will sever diplomatic ties with Israel, whose government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu he described as "genocidal" in its war in Gaza.

"Tomorrow (Thursday) diplomatic relations with the state of Israel will be severed... for having a government, for having a president that is genocidal," Petro, a harsh critic of the devastating war against Hamas, told a May Day rally in Bogota.

Netanyahu is Israel's head of government, while the country's president -- a role which is largely ceremonial -- is Isaac Herzog.

After applying months of pressure on Israel to do more on aid, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had a first-hand look Wednesday at trucks on the Gaza border.

Under tight security including armoured cars, Blinken made his first stop to near areas targeted in Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel.

A Saudi court's decision to sentence fitness influencer Manahel al-Otaibi to 11 years in prison highlights what activists describe as a fierce crackdown on even vaguely critical online speech.

In the past two years the Saudi judiciary has "convicted and handed down lengthy prison terms on dozens of individuals for their expression on social media", the human rights groups Amnesty International and ALQST said in a joint statement on Tuesday.