March 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. military has fired over 850 Tomahawk cruise missiles in four weeks of war with Iran, burning through the precision weapons at a rate that has alarmed some Pentagon officials and prompted internal discussions about how to make more available, the Washington Post reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report. The U.S. Department of Defense and the White House did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

Gulf countries and Israel came under missile fire and Israeli forces struck Iran on Saturday, as the war raged into its second month with Washington expressing hopes for progress in talks with Tehran.

In a sign that the conflict may be expanding further, Israel's military said air defences responded to a missile launched from Yemen -- the first since the start of the war on February 28, and after threats from Iran's Houthi allies to launch attacks.

March 27 (Reuters) - More than 370,000 children have been forced from their homes in Lebanon amid Israel's offensive against Hezbollah, with at least 121 children killed and 399 injured, UNICEF's representative in Lebanon, MarcoluigiCorsi, said on Friday.

(Reporting by Kirsti Knolle, editing by Thomas Seythal)

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

CAIRO, March 27 (Reuters) - Hamas would be required to allow the destruction of its vast Gaza tunnel network as it lays down its arms in stages under a disarmament plan that was presented to the militants by U.S. President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace", and viewed by Reuters.

The plan follows an eight-month timeline that begins with a U.S.-backed committee of Palestinian technocrats taking security control of Gaza and concludes with Israeli forces withdrawing completely upon "verification that Gaza is free of weaponry".

TUNIS, March 27 (Reuters) - The families of dozens of jailed opposition figures in Tunisia are among the few remaining voices demanding democratic freedoms, as they seek the release of loved ones held in what rights groups have called a crackdown on dissent by President Kais Saied.

The leaders of the main opposition parties in Tunisia have been jailed within the last three years, along with dozens of politicians, journalists, businessmen and others on charges of conspiring against state security, money laundering, and corruption - charges they say are fabricated.

KYIV, March 27 (Reuters) - Ukraine and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement on defence cooperation that lays the foundation for future contracts, technological cooperation and investments, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday.

Zelenskiy, who is visiting Saudi Arabia, said the agreement was signed ahead of a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

"We are ready to share our expertise and systems with Saudi Arabia and to work together to strengthen the protection of lives," Zelenskiy said on the Telegram app.

GENEVA, March 27 (Reuters) - More than 1,700 people were killed, nearly 200,000 displaced and multiple actors including Syrian government forces, tribal fighters and Druze armed groups committed acts that may amount to war crimes during a week of violence in southern Syria in July 2025, a U.N. investigation said on Friday.

Ukraine and Saudi Arabia have signed an air defence agreement during President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to the kingdom facing Iranian drone attacks, two senior officials told AFP on Friday.

Kyiv has sought to leverage its expertise in downing Russian drones to help Gulf nations, which are being attacked with the same kind of Iranian-designed Shahed drones that Russia fires on Ukraine.

By Krishna N. Das, Nidhi Verma and Saurabh Sharma

NEW DELHI, March 27 (Reuters) - As India's diplomats negotiated an accord that would ease punitive U.S. tariffs on the South Asian country's exports in January, New Delhi slashed its purchases of Russian crude oil in a move that was widely seen as a painful concession to President Donald Trump.

Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war:

- Kuwait's main port hit -

Kuwait's main commercial port was damaged in a drone attack at dawn.

The Shuwaikh port was targeted "by enemy drones, preliminary reports revealed material damage but no human casualties", the Kuwait port authority said in a statement on X.

- Iran warning to US soldiers -

Iran's military has warned that hotels housing US soldiers across the region would be targets.