The United States has approved the sale of tens of millions of dollars in military equipment to aid Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, and the close defense ties between the countries date back decades.

But the civilian death toll from nearly six months of Israeli bombardment and ground operations in Gaza is rising and the humanitarian situation is catastrophic, piling pressure on President Joe Biden to impose conditions on military aid.

President Joe Biden warned Israel of a sharp shift in his policy over the Gaza war Thursday amid growing frustration with Benjamin Netanyahu and mounting domestic pressure in a US election year.

A tense phone call between the two leaders appeared to yield at least some results, as Netanyahu's office announced within hours it would temporarily allow more aid to flow into Gaza.

Israel's more than seven-month war in Gaza since the October 7 attack has revived a global push for Palestinians to be given a state of their own.

Norway, Spain and Ireland all announced plans on Wednesday to recognise a State of Palestine, breaking with the long-held position of Western powers that a Palestinian state can only come as part of a negotiated peace with Israel.

According to the Palestinian Authority, which has limited powers in parts of the occupied West Bank, 142 of the 193 member countries of the United Nations already recognise a State of Palestine.

Saudi Arabia will host the WTA Finals for the next three editions, the Women's Tennis Association said on Thursday, following widespread speculation and criticism from some of the game's greats.

In just the latest high-profile Saudi sporting acquisition, the capital Riyadh will first hold the season finale featuring eight singles players and doubles teams from November 2-9.

"Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, will host the next three editions of the WTA Finals from 2024-2026," the WTA posted on X, formerly Twitter, on its official account.

Election-weary Kuwait voted for the third time in three years on Thursday, just months into the reign of a new emir but with no end in sight to the major oil exporter's chronic political paralysis.

Parliamentary polls have become an annual occurrence for the OPEC member country, which has seven percent of the world's oil reserves and the monarchical Gulf's most powerful elected assembly.

However, the national assembly's clashes with the royal-appointed cabinet have caused constant stalemate, delaying much-needed reforms.

The UN Human Rights Council on Thursday prolonged by a year an independent international fact-finding mission investigating Iran's deadly crackdown on protests that erupted in 2022.

The United Nations' top rights body extended the mission, and the mandate of the council's special rapporteur on Iran, Javaid Rehman, with 24 votes in favour, eight against and 15 abstentions in the 47-member chamber.

It said the extension for Rehman was necessary to "continue to monitor the ongoing situation of human rights, including civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights".

Israeli security services said Thursday they had foiled a plot to kill the country's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

Eleven people including seven Palestinian Israeli citizens were arrested in the joint operation with the police and the army, the internal security service Shin Bet said.

"Shin Bet dismantled a terrorist cell that was preparing attacks in Israel, notably against the Minister Itamar Ben Gvir," the agency said in a statement, nearly six months into Israel's war against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei mourned Thursday the seven Revolutionary Guards killed in a strike in Syria, which he has blamed on Israel and has vowed to "punish", state media reported.

The Guards, including two generals, were killed in the air strike on Monday which levelled the Iranian embassy's consular annex in Damascus.

Israel has not commented on the strike but analysts saw it as an escalation of its campaign against Iran and its regional proxies that runs the risk of triggering a wider war.

Israel came under mounting pressure Friday to step up aid to Gaza with its military admitting a series of "grave mistakes" when a drone killed seven aid workers in the embattled territory.

US-based charity World Central Kitchen, whose staff were killed in Monday night's drone strike, demanded that an independent commission investigate the killings.

Britain, which lost three nationals in the strike, called for a "wholly independent review".

Every evening during Ramadan, members of a motorbike club zip down the streets of Damascus to deliver meals to those in need during the Muslim holy month.

"We hit the most disadvantaged areas," said Tarek Obaid, head of Hope Bikers Syria, whose 50 volunteers make and distribute the food for various charities in the Syrian capital.

The bikers -- some sporting beards or wearing large silver rings on their fingers -- head out as sunset approaches, racing to hand over the food so Muslims recipients can break their daytime fast.