Israel has reportedly started to test a plan to flood Hamas's sprawling tunnel network, but experts say it is a dangerous option that poses huge risks to Gaza's besieged civilians.

The military is determined to destroy the tunnels after Hamas's October 7 attack in southern Israel, and army chief Herzi Halevi has suggested pumping water into them is "a good idea".

AFP takes a look at Hamas's tunnel network and Israel's bid to destroy it.

- 'Gaza metro' -

Multiple rockets were intercepted over central Jerusalem on Friday, AFP journalists reported.

Staff saw two explosions and heard three blasts, as sirens warning of incoming fire blared in the city for the first time since October 30, according to the Israeli military.

Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said it had fired rockets towards Jerusalem "as a response to the Zionist massacres of civilians".

Paramedics rushed to the scene after the alarm was raised in Jerusalem and nearby Beit Shemesh, the Magen David Adom emergency medical services said.

Love songs of Egyptian diva Umm Kalthoum boom across the Tel Aviv theatre where Arabs and Jews seek solace from the deadly Hamas-Israel war raging only miles away.

"On stage three Jews and three Arabs deliver their lines in Hebrew and sing in Arabic," said play director Igal Ezraty.

"It is meant to show that Arabic is not just the language of Hamas," whose militants launched a devastating attack on southern Israel in October triggering massive Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip.

A more precise picture of Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel has emerged from social security data, confirming the unprecedented scale of the violence but also challenging some initial testimonies.

The final death toll from the attack is now thought to be 695 Israeli civilians, including 36 children, as well as 373 security forces and 71 foreigners, giving a total of 1,139.

This excludes five people, among them four Israelis, still listed as missing by the prime minister's office.

Two of the world's largest shipping firms, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, said Friday they were suspending passage through a Red Sea strait vital for global commerce, after Yemeni rebel attacks in the area.

The Iran-backed Huthis, who control much of Yemen but are not recognised internationally, say they're targeting shipping to pressure Israel during its two-month-old war with Palestinian Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.

The maritime tensions have added to fears that the Gaza conflict could spread.

The Netherlands can continue to deliver parts for F-35 fighter jets used by Israel in the Gaza Strip, after a Dutch court on Friday threw out a case brought by a group of human rights organisations.

The district court in The Hague said that supplying the parts was primarily a political decision that judges should not interfere with.

"The considerations that the minister makes are to a large extent of a political and policy nature and judges should leave the minister a large amount of freedom," the court ruled.

Fighting between the Sudanese army and paramilitaries on the outskirts of Wad Madani sent already displaced families fleeing again Friday, an AFP correspondent reported, as a civil war entered its ninth month.

The army blocked civilians from entering the city of Wad Madani -- 180 kilometres (110 miles) south of the capital Khartoum -- which had quickly become a safe haven when war broke out between the Sudanese armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces on April 15.

France's foreign minister travels to Lebanon on Saturday as part of diplomatic efforts by President Emmanuel Macron's government to help contain the Middle East conflict.

Fears of a widening war have been growing, with Iran-backed groups targeting US and allied forces in Iraq and Syria, and daily exchanges of fire along Israel's border with Lebanon.

"We must avoid a regional eruption," foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine said ahead of Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna's trip.

A court in the Netherlands will rule Friday on whether to force the Dutch government to stop supplying parts for F-35 fighter jets being used by Israel over the Gaza Strip.

A group of human rights organisations has brought the case, arguing that supplying the parts contributes to alleged violations of international law by Israel in its war with Hamas.

The case concerns US-owned F-35 parts stored at a warehouse in the Netherlands and then shipped to several partners, including Israel, via existing export agreements.

Israel reopened an aid crossing into Gaza on Friday as staunch ally the United States urged more restraint in its all-out offensive against Hamas.

The Israeli army said its troops had shot and killed three hostages after mistaking them for a "threat" while Jerusalem came under rocket fire from Gaza for the first time since late October.

The war began after Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7 that Israeli officials say killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians.