South Africa on Wednesday petitioned the International Court of Justice to impose fresh emergency measures on Israel over what it described as the "widespread starvation" resulting from its Gaza offensive.

It is the second time Pretoria has asked the court for additional measures -- its first request in February was denied.

South Africa said it was "compelled to return to the Court in light of the new facts and changes in the situation in Gaza -- particularly the situation of widespread starvation" during the offensive.

If and when the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza are released under any deal, they face the risk of lasting psychological trauma, experts warned, citing the suffering of people freed previously.

"There are some that are living dead. As if they were frozen in time and place in Gaza, and haven't returned," said Merav Roth, a clinical psychologist who treated some of those former hostages and their families.

A missile fired by Yemen's Huthi rebels hit a bulk carrier in the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday, with the crew reporting three people killed and at least four wounded, the US military said.

The Iran-backed Huthis have been targeting merchant vessels transiting the vital Red Sea trade route for months but Wednesday's deaths were the first reported fatalities resulting from such an attack.

Francis Ngannou once toiled in a sand mine, scavenged for food to avoid starvation and slept rough in a car park, so facing former two-time world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua on Friday is just another stop on his epic rags-to-riches journey.

"I've had a lot of experience in life," the softly-spoken Cameroon-born fighter says with characteristic understatement.

"I've built my fighting spirit as high as anyone else."

Ngannou has crammed a lot into his 37 years.

Hezbollah on Wednesday held a funeral in southern Lebanon for two of its fighters and a woman, all members of the same family, who were killed in an Israeli strike the day before.

An AFP photographer saw hundreds of people turning up for the funeral in Hula, near the border with Israel that has seen deadly exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and Israeli forces since the start of the Gaza war.

Tuesday's strike on Hula killed a man and his son who were initially identified as civilian victims but later claimed by Hezbollah as fighters "martyred in battle".

Whether directing traffic or controlling prices, a group of vigilantes is determined to uphold order as five months of war have shattered any semblance of normalcy in Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah.

Their faces covered with black balaclavas, the so-called "Popular Committees of Protection" patrol Rafah where vast numbers of displaced people have sought refuge.

"We are hundreds of individuals and volunteers maintaining security and protecting citizens from high prices, organising public markets and transport," said 28-year-old Abu Mahmud.

Fear stalks the usually quiet Palestinian small town of Dura in the occupied West Bank, which has seen a rise in Israeli military operations since the Gaza war broke out.

Shaken by several violent deaths, the 48,000 people of the town west of Hebron always wonder when the next army raid will come, said its mayor Muhannad Amro.

"We don't know when it will happen nor what will happen," he told AFP. "We can only stay out of the way" of the soldiers and "stay away from windows", he said.

Egypt secured an additional $5 billion in IMF loans on Wednesday, the two sides said, after the central bank hiked interest rates and allowed the pound to plunge by nearly 40 percent.

The Central Bank of Egypt's decision to raise the key deposit rate to a record 27.25 percent, in a move it said was to "fast-track the disinflation path", caught the market by surprise.

The bank also committed to "allowing the exchange rate to be determined by market forces", saying in a statement that it was "crucial" to unify the official and black-market exchange rates.

A group of United Nations experts on Wednesday urged Britain to repatriate a woman stripped of her citizenship after leaving the country aged 15 to marry an Islamic State fighter.

Shamima Begum, now 24 and living in a refugee camp in northern Syria, lost an appeal last month against the decision to remove her British citizenship.

A group of five UN special rapporteurs voiced deep concern at the February 23 ruling, and urged Britain to provide Begum with protection -- including repatriation -- and review the decision to revoke her citizenship.

Morocco experienced record heat this winter, including the hottest January since measurements began, the country's meteorological department told AFP, placing the blame on climate change.

The North African kingdom, where temperatures recently approached 37 degrees Celsius (99 Fahrenheit), is facing a sixth consecutive year of drought.

The lack of water threatens the viability of agriculture -- a key economic sector which employs around a third of the working-age population and accounts for 14 percent of exports.