"Victory is not easy, but it is certain," imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner and women's rights activist Narges Mohammadi, said in a message smuggled out of her Tehran cell and published late Tuesday.

In the message, read out in French by her daughter, Kiana Rahmani, and posted on the official Nobel website, the 51-year-old activist and journalist expressed "sincere gratitude" to the Norwegian Nobel committee.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged Muslim countries Wednesday to halt trade with Israel, including oil exports, in response to its bombardment of Gaza since deadly Hamas attacks.

Israel has been pounding the Gaza Strip since Hamas gunmen stormed across the border on October 7 and, killed more than 1,400 people, most of them civilians, according to Israeli officials.

The bombing campaign has killed more than 8,500 people, two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Saudi Arabia is prepared to host the 2034 World Cup in summer or winter, its football chief told AFP, after the oil giant became the sole bidder for the tournament.

"Of course, we are ready for all possibilities," Saudi Arabian Football Federation president Yasser al-Misehal said late on Tuesday at the Asian Football Confederation awards in Doha.

Saudi Arabia's successful bid, just 27 days after announcing it, comes less than a year after neighbouring Qatar held the first winter World Cup, a decision that forced a pause to league competitions in Europe.

Electric vehicle sales are surging in Jordan, a trend drivers and showrooms attribute to high petrol prices more than any concerns about air pollution and climate change.

Boosted by low import taxes, especially affordable Chinese-made models have become a common sight on the streets of Amman and the kingdom's desert highways.

Tesla owner Shadi Zatari, 43, says he no longer worries about pump prices since he plugs in his car overnight at home, allowing him to drive 400 kilometres (250 miles) on a single charge.

Standing on the verge of hosting the World Cup is an undeniable win for oil power Saudi Arabia as it pushes to reshape its economy and shake off its questionable image, analysts say.

It wasn't long ago that the desert monarchy was shunned by Western leaders after the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents.

Now, while human rights controversies have not gone away, the kingdom is gaining a reputation for extravagant forays into sport, backed by its seemingly bottomless oil wealth.

Saudi Arabia is in line to host the 2034 World Cup after FIFA announced that the kingdom had submitted the only "expression of interest" in hosting the tournament.

The decision will be ratified officially at the end of next year, providing all of the technical criteria are met.

Saudi Arabia, which has invested heavily in football as well as Formula One and golf, is set to take over from an unprecedented tri-continental line-up for the 2030 event, which will be shared between Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with three matches in South America.

Senators voted Tuesday to confirm President Joe Biden's nominee for US ambassador to Israel, filling a crucial posting that had been vacant for months as America's closest ally in the Middle East battles Hamas militants.

Former Treasury secretary Jack Lew had drawn opposition from Republicans over his role in then-president Barack Obama's 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, but emerged successful from a 53-43 Senate vote to secure the ambassadorship.

Thousands of Palestinian families are caught between hopes that prisoners in Israeli jails could be freed in a swap for hostages held by Hamas, and horror over Israel's bombardment of Gaza in response to an attack by the militant group.

Wafa Abu Ghoulmi said she loves her husband Ahmed, who is serving nine life sentences over the 2001 killing of an Israeli minister, and wants to see him.

But she is also suffering from the impact of the conflict.

Egypt is preparing to treat wounded Palestinians from the bombarded Gaza Strip starting Wednesday, with the opening of a border crossing to people after weeks of war, medical and security sources said.

The border authority in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip said that Egypt had agreed to let in 81 of the most badly wounded on Wednesday through Rafah, the only crossing not controlled by Israel.

An AFP photographer on Tuesday saw a large number of ambulances gathered at Rafah.

Lebanese emergency crews rush to the scene of Israeli bombardments in ageing vehicles and without protective gear as the crisis-hit country struggles to prepare for a possible war.

A gruelling, four-year-long economic collapse, widely blamed on the governing elite, has left Lebanon ill-prepared for another disaster, and volunteers and local authorities are scrambling to fill the gap with limited means.