Israel pressed its southward offensive against Hamas in Gaza on Friday as US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held their first call in weeks amid tensions over post-war plans.

At Al-Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis, Gaza's main southern city, a child with a bloodied face cried on a gurney. Ambulances arrived with the injured and the dead while automatic weapons fire sounded beyond.

An orange fireball flashed above rooftops and an AFP journalist saw plumes of dark smoke towering above the city.

Yemen's Huthi rebels claimed another attack on a US ship early Friday, after the United States launched fresh strikes on rebel targets over their aggression towards vessels in and around the Red Sea.

While the Iran-backed rebels maintained they had struck the commercial vessel in the Gulf of Aden, the US military later said the group's missiles had missed their mark.

Steven Gerrard signed a new deal with Al-Ettifaq to remain as coach until 2027 on Thursday, just moments after former Liverpool teammate Jordan Henderson left the Saudi club.

The 43-year-old Gerrard arrived at Al-Ettifaq last July on a two-year deal but his team are a modest eighth in the Pro League table, 28 points behind leaders Al-Hilal.

"This is very pleasing for myself and my family and feels like recognition for a lot of hard work and commitment," said former England captain Gerrard in a statement.

The United States launched fresh strikes against Yemen's Huthis on Thursday and President Joe Biden signaled they would keep going until the Iranian-backed rebels stop targeting ships in the Red Sea.

The latest US attacks hit two anti-ship missiles that the Huthis -- who say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza -- were preparing to fire into the busy shipping corridor, the US military said.

The United States urged Pakistan and Iran Thursday to avoid escalating tensions after the two countries exchanged air strikes, as President Joe Biden said the clash showed Iran was not "well-liked" in the region.

Tensions between nuclear-armed Islamabad, a US ally, and Washington's foe Tehran have soared after Iran struck alleged militant targets in Pakistan and Pakistan responded in kind.

President Joe Biden said Thursday that US and British military strikes against Yemen's Huthis would continue, because the Iran-backed rebels were still attacking shipping in the Red Sea.

"When you say 'working, are they stopping the Huthi?' No. Are they going to continue? Yes," Biden told reporters at the White House when asked if the strikes were working.

The United States has launched several rounds of air strikes against Huthi targets, including missile and drone facilities, since an initial barrage by US and British forces hit targets in Yemen last Friday.

Iran is barely cooperating with the International Atomic Energy Agency which feels it is being held "hostage" to the country's disputes with Western countries, IAEA director general Rafael Grossi told AFP on Thursday.

Grossi also said the situation at the Ukrainian nuclear power plant of Zaporizhzhia was "extremely worrying", even if there are no signs the plant has become a military installation.

The deputy leader of Yemen's presidential council said Thursday that its military forces need foreign assistance to launch a ground operation that would back US and UK air strikes against Huthi rebels.

Aidarus al-Zubaidi, vice president of the Presidential Leadership Council based in the southern city of Aden, told AFP the aerial barrage alone was not enough to deter Huthi attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea.

Australia followed hosts and holders Qatar into the last 16 of the Asian Cup with an unconvincing 1-0 victory over Syria on Thursday.

Jackson Irvine scored the winner on the hour with his second goal of the tournament, swivelling in the box before poking the ball through the legs of goalkeeper Ahmad Madanieh.

Graham Arnold's Socceroos are into the knockouts with a group game to spare but will have to play better than this if they are to lift the Asian Cup for a second time.

There were just two shots on target all game, one for each side.

Baluchistan is a restive region shared by Iran and Pakistan where security forces on both sides of the border have for years battled militant groups but which now risks being the subject of escalating tensions between the neighbours.

Who are the Baluch?

Both Iran's southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan and Pakistan's western province of Balochistan are the most impoverished regions of their respective countries, vast and arid provinces constantly battling drought, with rampant unemployment.