US President Joe Biden is calling for humanitarian pauses in the Israel-Hamas conflict that would involve a "temporary, localized" cessation of hostilities –- well short of a general ceasefire -- a senior White House official said Thursday.

At a campaign event on Wednesday Biden was urged by a member of the audience to call for a ceasefire in the war. Biden replied: "I think we need a pause."

Talking to reporters Thursday National Security Council spokesman John Kirby clarified what such a pause would entail.

The once bustling streets of Jerusalem's Old City have fallen eerily quiet, with the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas keeping away tourists and their much-needed cash.

In the maze-like warren of shopping streets that surrounds the city's holy sites, most businesses remained shuttered, nearly four weeks into the war.

The few remaining shopkeepers brave enough to open their stores wait day after day for tourists that have yet to return.

"There is no tourism industry any more," said Marwan Attieh, 48, a third-generation tour guide and souvenir shop owner.

French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said Thursday that Lebanon "doesn't need a war" with Israel and warned against a regional escalation as Israel bombards Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.

Lebanon's southern border has seen near daily exchanges of fire, mainly between Israel and Hamas ally Hezbollah, since Hamas launched a shock attack on Israel from the Palestinian territory on October 7.

"Lebanon doesn't need a war, that's the least we can say," Lecornu said during a visit to French peacekeepers in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

A barrage of rockets wounded two people in the Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona near the Lebanese border Thursday, Israel's Magen David Adom emergency medical service said.

One of the wounded was "a 25-year-old man in moderate condition who was injured by shrapnel," the medical service said.

An AFP photographer saw Israeli emergency crews checking the debris of burnt out vehicles following the strikes in Kiryat Shmona.

When Israeli mother Maayan Zin scrolls through her phone, she sees her worst nightmare and her only glimmer of hope as she desperately awaits news of her two young daughters, believed held hostage by Hamas.

Every day since the militant group's October 7 attack, she has re-watched a video of Hamas gunmen looming over her kneeling eight-year-old Ela, and a photo published online of 15-year-old Dafna inside Gaza.

France coach Didier Deschamps told a French National Assembly committee on Thursday that national teams had been "abandoned" over the issue of rainbow armbands at last year's World Cup in Qatar.

There was discussion before the competition over wearing "One Love" armbands as a protest because homosexual activity is illegal in Qatar, but the organisers and world football's governing body FIFA warned players not to.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday he would seek "concrete measures" from Israel to minimize harm to Gaza civilians as he headed on his second crisis trip to the Middle East since a Hamas assault triggered a war.

President Joe Biden has promised full support and ramped-up military aid to Israel for its retaliatory strikes in Gaza, but in a visible shift of tone has also voiced empathy for Palestinian suffering which has stoked anger in parts of the world.

Saudi Arabia said Thursday it was launching a fundraising campaign for war-torn Gaza, creating a rare opening for residents to show solidarity with Palestinians.

The move comes as the kingdom attempts to strike a balance between championing the Palestinian cause -- its traditional role -- and keeping attention on domestic economic and social reforms spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

It has been nearly one month since the October 7 attacks in which Hamas militants killed 1,400 people and kidnapped more than 230, according to Israeli officials.

Iranian prison authorities have blocked 2023 Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi's hospital transfer for urgently needed care over her refusal to wear the compulsory hijab, her family has said.

Veteran rights activist Mohammadi, 51, who is currently being held in Tehran's Evin prison, was awarded the prize in October "for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran".

Lebanon's Hezbollah said it attacked 19 Israeli positions along the border simultaneously Thursday, prompting a "broad" retaliatory assault, on the eve of a speech by the Iran-backed group's leader on the Israel-Hamas war.

The Israel-Lebanon border has seen escalating tit-for-tat exchanges, mainly between the Israeli army and Hamas ally Hezbollah, since the Palestinian militants launched a shock attack on Israel on October 7, stoking fears of a regional conflagration.