There is a notable absentee from this year's international book fair in Algiers -- the work of French-Algerian writer Kamel Daoud, who last week won France's prestigious top literary prize.

His novel "Houris" centres on Algeria's civil war between the government and Islamists in the 1990s -- the North African country's so-called "black decade".

The book, written in French, is banned in Algeria, and Daoud's publisher Gallimard was not allowed to display his works at the fair.

Twenty years after burying him, Egyptian architect Ahmed el-Meligui was forced to exhume his grandfather's remains from a historic Cairo cemetery that is being partially razed to accommodate the growing mega-city.

"Death itself is a tragedy. Here, you are reliving that tragedy all over again," said the 43-year-old, who had 23 other relatives also removed from their family tomb, located in a sprawling cemetery known as the City of the Dead in Old Cairo.

Israeli protesters expressed concern for hostages in Gaza Saturday, after Qatar said it was pulling back as a key mediator for a ceasefire that would help bring the captives home.

Thousands of people rallied in Tel Aviv holding signs reading "400", the number of days since the hostages were taken when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel on October 7 last year.

Efforts to broker a truce in the ensuing war between Hamas and Israel have proven fruitless, and on Saturday Qatar put its mediation on hold until the two sides showed "willingness and seriousness" in talks.

Qatar has suspended its role as a key mediator for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal until Hamas and Israel show "seriousness" in talks, the foreign ministry said Saturday.

The Gulf emirate, which has hosted Hamas's political leadership since 2012 with US blessing, has been involved in months of protracted diplomacy aimed at ending the war triggered by the Palestinian group's October 7 attack on Israel last year.

Iran signalled an openness towards Donald Trump Saturday, calling on the US president-elect to adopt new policies towards it after Washington accused Tehran of involvement in a plot to kill him.

Vice President for Strategic Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif urged Trump to reassess the policy of "maximum pressure" he employed against the Islamic republic during his first term.

"Trump must show that he is not following the wrong policies of the past," Zarif told reporters.

His remarks came after the United States accused Iran of conspiring to assassinate Trump.

A wave of Israeli strikes on east and south Lebanon on Saturday killed at least 33 people, the health ministry said, as Israel intensified its air campaign against Iran-backed Hezbollah.

"Israeli enemy raids targeting the Baalbek-Hermel region killed 20 people, including 11 in the Knaissseh locality," a statement from the ministry said of attacks on the east of the country where Hezbollah holds sway.

Another 14 people were wounded, it said.

Fresh off a flight home, Israeli football fans back from Amsterdam recalled on Friday clashes and violence they said targeted Jewish people following a Europa League match.

Kobi Eliyahu, 40, said people with their faces covered "waited (on) every single corner... it was very frightening to see that".

Another returning fan, Eliya Cohen, said that after the match between Israel's Maccabi Tel Aviv and Dutch team Ajax on Thursday, he saw "Muslims looking for Jews to beat them up" in central Amsterdam.

US prosecutors announced charges on Friday in an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate former president Donald Trump and a prominent dissident Iranian-American journalist.

The foiled assassination plot on Trump was allegedly directed by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to avenge the death of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in 2020 in a US strike ordered by then-president Trump, the Justice Department said.

UN peacekeepers on Friday accused the Israeli army of damaging one of their south Lebanon positions in a "deliberate and direct" action against their forces.

The incident which occurred on Thursday, is like "seven other similar incidents" carried out by the Israeli army, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said in a statement.

It "is not a matter of peacekeepers getting caught in the crossfire, but of deliberate and direct actions by the" Israeli army, it said.

A spate of recent intelligence successes by Israel against Iran and its allies have underlined the extent of Israel's infiltration of the establishment in Iran, causing major anxiety for its leadership, analysts say.

It remains a closely guarded secret how, and how deeply, Israel has infiltrated Iran's administration and security apparatus.

But analysts say Israel's recent successes -- including assassinations, targeted strikes and secret operations -- would be impossible without information being leaked at a high level.