Press freedom groups Monday condemned as "outrageous" the lengthy jail sentences handed to the two Iranian journalists who exposed the case of Mahsa Amini, saying both women were merely doing their jobs.

Amini died in September 2022 in police custody after being arrested for allegedly violating Iran's strict dress rules for women.

Her death, which activists say was caused by a blow to the head in accusations denied by Tehran, sparked months of protests which have now lost intensity in the face of a fierce crackdown.

Fighting has raged for more than two weeks in the Gaza Strip after Hamas gunmen stormed into Israel on October 7, killing at least 1,400 people, according to Israeli officials.

More than 5,000 Palestinians, mainly civilians, have been killed across Gaza in relentless Israeli bombardments in retaliation for the attacks, the Hamas-run health ministry said on Monday.

There have also been increasing cross-border exchanges of fire along Israel's northern frontier with Lebanon, between Israeli troops and Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas.

Under the roar of military aircraft, workers were rushing to offload supplies at Egypt's El Arish airport as aid trickles into the stricken Gaza Strip after more than two weeks of war with Israel.

Officials barked orders and forklift trucks revved their engines, swerving at speed on the tarmac as they carried items including vital food and medicine for the Palestinian enclave.

Iran and Russia on Monday denounced European and US interference in tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan at a meeting in Tehran aimed at finding a solution without the West.

Armenia and Azerbaijan joined the talks in the Iranian capital seeking to ease the tensions, which soared with Baku's lightning offensive to retake the long-disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Hamas rockets fell on Tel Aviv during the October 7 attacks, and alert sirens still send residents rushing to shelters daily -- and the strain on Israel's commercial hub is starting to show.

Runners and cyclists still exercise in the sun on Tel Aviv's seafront promenade and in its parks. But back at home, some are boarding up their windows or getting armed.

"I've never felt this vulnerable," said Ravit Stein, a 50-year-old insurance agent who was walking her dog in the city centre.

The United States warned Iran or its allies against any escalation in the wake of Israel's war with Hamas, two top US officials said Sunday, hours after the Pentagon moved to step up military readiness in the region.

With tensions mounting, Washington also announced Sunday it had ordered non-emergency staff to leave its embassy in Iraq.

"We are concerned at the possibility of Iranian proxies escalating their attacks against our own personnel, our own people," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on CBS News. "We expect there is a likelihood of escalation."

Jon Polin says he has watched the video of his seriously wounded son being hustled into the back of a truck by Hamas gunmen countless times.

The scene played out just hours after 23-year-old Hersh Goldberg-Polin had spent time with his family on the last day of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot then spent the night dancing at a music festival with friends.

The youngster is just one of more than 200 people kidnapped by Hamas gunmen during their killing spree across southern Israel that began on October 7 and has left more than 1,400 dead.

Israel has one of the best-resourced militaries in the world, heavily supported by Washington. In Hamas, it faces a highly trained armed group with powerful regional allies.

With both sides poised for an Israeli ground offensive in the wake of the deadly attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7, here is an overview of their military resources.

- Israel -

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) number 169,500, of which 126,000 are army, according to Britain's International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).

Cairo's "Summit for Peace" was meant to be a diplomatic breakthrough towards a ceasefire in Gaza, but its failure revealed what one analyst called the "fault lines" between Arab and Western states on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In their opening addresses Saturday, Arab leaders and Western delegates agreed on the need for aid to reach Palestinians in Gaza, besieged and under Israeli bombardment.

But after hours of discussion, they found common ground on little else, with the meeting ending without a concluding statement.

Scores of people rushed to Deir el-Balah hospital to identify bodies on Sunday after Israel stepped up its air strikes on Gaza, as the territory's Hamas rulers said 4,651 people have now been killed since the start of the war.

Authorities said Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, had suffered most from one of the most intense nights of shelling since Israel started its bombardment in response to Hamas' cross-border attacks on October 7.