A hypnotic drum beat blends with ancient Sufi-inspired tunes in a tent in a Moroccan mountain village where local musicians regroup once a year when they don't play the world's top stages.

The Master Musicians of Joujouka draw on centuries of local tradition with a hypnotic sound that captivated the 1950s Beatniks, the Rolling Stones' Brian Jones and fans everywhere since.

The Joujouka collective has performed at top global venues from Paris's Pompidou Centre to Britain's Glastonbury Festival.

Israel bombarded the Gaza Strip and battled Hamas Sunday as mediators called on both sides to agree to a truce and hostage release deal outlined by US President Joe Biden.

Since Biden spoke at the White House on Friday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted Israel will pursue the war, now nearing its ninth month, until it has destroyed Hamas and freed the captives.

Palestinian militant group Hamas, meanwhile, has said it "views positively" what Biden described as an Israeli proposal.

Iran's hardline former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday registered his candidacy for a presidential election this month, state media reported.

The Islamic republic goes to the polls on June 28 to replace ultraconservative president Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash on May 19.

Ahmadinejad, 67, held the post for two straight terms from 2005 to 2013, a period marked by a standoff with the West especially over Iran's nuclear programme and his incendiary remarks on Israel.

Sudanese entrepreneur Julie Samir's dream of opening a restaurant has finally come true, but it's a bittersweet achievement after she fled to Egypt from her war-torn homeland of Sudan.

Now, Samir has one aim for her menu: winning over the palate of Egyptians with a taste of Sudan's complex culinary traditions, born from a rich history at the crossroads of the Middle East and Africa.

New York police arrested at least 22 people after pro-Palestinian protesters picketed New York's Brooklyn Museum, charging some with offenses including assault, officers said on Saturday, with the gallery reporting damage to artwork.

Hundreds of demonstrators had descended on the art museum Friday, chanting pro-Palestinian slogans, and carrying banners and placards, an AFP correspondent saw.

Thousands of Israelis rallied in Tel Aviv Saturday to demand acceptance of a ceasefire and hostage release deal outlined by US President Joe Biden, with many fearing the premier would disown the proposal.

Israeli and US flags dotted the crowd in the central plaza they have dubbed Hostages Square, alongside banners urging: "Bring them home!"

"Biden is our only hope," protester Abigail Zur, 34, told AFP.

Mohammed Al-Najjar, a 33-year-old Gazan, said Saturday he was "shocked" and feeling "lost" as he returned home, only to find much of Jabalia refugee camp in ruins after an Israeli offensive

"All the houses have been reduced to rubble," Najjar told AFP in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip.

"You are lost, you do not know where exactly your house is in the middle of this massive destruction."

A series of diplomatic setbacks, strong condemnation of a recent Gaza strike, and intense protests on Western campuses have left Israelis feeling their country is unfairly isolated.

Israelis expected unwavering support from their allies and the international community after Hamas's October 7 attack.

But as Israel's retaliatory offensive against Hamas in Gaza deepened, it seems to have lost the sympathy it initially received after the unprecedented attack.

Israeli forces targeting the Hezbollah militant group bombarded villages in southern and eastern Lebanon on Saturday after attacks inside northern Israel, sources on both sides said.

Israel and Hezbollah have staged regular artillery strikes against each other since the October 7 Hamas attacks set off the latest Gaza war.

A Hezbollah-affiliated medical organisation said 16 children aged between four and 14 were wounded in one Israeli air strike on the south Lebanon town of Siddikine.

Qatari, Egyptian and US mediators called on Israel and Hamas Saturday to "finalise" the truce deal outlined by US President Joe Biden, as Israeli forces pounded Rafah in southern Gaza.

Fighting has raged in the besieged Gaza Strip since Biden said Israel was offering a new roadmap towards a full ceasefire.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has since insisted his country would pursue the war until it had achieved all its aims.