Hopes rose on Monday for a long-sought-after truce and hostage release deal after almost seven months of war in Gaza between Palestinian Hamas militants and Israel.

Washington's top diplomat said he was "hopeful" Hamas would accept the offer, which his British counterpart said could see the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners.

After meeting in Cairo, the Hamas delegation left Egypt and returned to Qatar "to discuss the ideas and the proposal... and we are keen to respond as quickly as possible," a Hamas source close to the talks told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The White House insisted Sunday that pro-Palestinian protests that have rocked US universities in recent weeks must remain peaceful, after police arrested around 275 people on four separate campuses over the weekend.

"We certainly respect the right of peaceful protests," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told ABC's "This Week."

But, he added, "we absolutely condemn the anti-Semitism language that we've heard of late and certainly condemn all the hate speech and the threats of violence out there."

On a cinder block work table in the war-torn Gaza Strip, puppet maker Mahdi Karira is busy turning old tin cans into figurines.

He hums as he works, knowing his makeshift marionettes will put a smile on the faces of children displaced by the more than six-month war in the coastal Palestinian territory.

"These puppets can make things around us beautiful," he said, surveying his handiwork.

Before the war, Karira had a whole store of brightly-coloured puppets and often took them to perform in theatres.

Attacks by Yemen's Huthi rebels on Red Sea shipping pose no threat to Saudi coastal resorts, the kingdom's tourism minister told AFP Sunday at a summit focused on regional instability.

"What is happening is at the end of the Red Sea, at the very south of the Red Sea," Ahmed Al Khateeb said on the sidelines of a two-day World Economic Forum special meeting in the Saudi capital.

He was referring to the Huthis' campaign of drone and missile attacks targeting ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden that the rebels say are linked to Israel.

Hamas said Sunday it had no "major issues" after reviewing Israel's latest proposal for a long-sought truce and hostage-release deal in the Gaza Strip after almost seven months of war.

A delegation from the Islamist movement will arrive in Egypt on Monday to deliver the group's response to Israel's counterproposal, a senior Hamas official told AFP.

"The atmosphere is positive unless there are new Israeli obstacles," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

France's top diplomat on Sunday urged de-escalation between Israel and the Hezbollah movement during his second visit to Lebanon since cross-border tensions flared alongside the Gaza war.

Israel and Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group have exchanged near-daily fire since Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack on southern Israel sparked the war in Gaza.

Fighting has intensified in recent weeks, with Israel striking deeper into Lebanese territory, while Hezbollah has stepped up its missile and drone attacks on military positions in northern Israel.

Saudi Arabia on Sunday said the international community has failed Gaza and reiterated its call for a Palestinian state at a global economic summit attended by a host of mediators.

"The situation in Gaza obviously is a catastrophe by every measure –- humanitarian, but also a complete failing of the existing political system to deal with that crisis," Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said during the first day of a Saudi-hosted World Economic Forum special meeting.

The Moroccan city of Tangiers, which has a long history as a haven of inspiration for American jazz musicians, will host UNESCO's International Jazz Day for the first time on Tuesday.

Over the last century, jazz greats such as Randy Weston, Idrees Sulieman and Max Roach all crossed the Atlantic to play and record music in the North African port city, perched on the edge of the Strait of Gibraltar.

"The city has had a fascinating power of attraction on a wave of intellectuals and musicians," Philippe Lorin, the founder of an annual Tangiers jazz festival, told AFP.

Washington's top diplomat will travel to Saudi Arabia on Sunday as the deadline approaches on a landmark -- and, analysts say, long-shot -- deal that would see the kingdom recognise Israel.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to Riyadh comes nearly seven months after the eruption of war in Gaza put the brakes on what was intended as a signature foreign policy achievement for his boss, US President Joe Biden.

Palestinians in Rafah told AFP Saturday they were living in "constant terror" as Israel vows to push ahead with its planned assault on the south Gaza city flooded with displaced civilians.

Most of Gaza's population is sheltering in Rafah at the very south of the territory after fleeing Israeli bombardment elsewhere.

The Israeli army insists it will carry out a ground assault to eliminate Hamas militants, despite an international outcry and concern for the roughly 1.5 million Palestinians sheltering in Rafah, many in tents.