An expected Israeli assault on Rafah has aid groups scrambling for ways to help the 1.5 million civilians sheltering in the south Gaza city but the uncertain timeline poses a logistical nightmare.

"We always are prepared with plans to upscale or downscale but, really, we don't know what to expect," said Bushra Khalidi, head of advocacy at Oxfam.

Oxfam joined 12 other aid groups in a joint call for a ceasefire on April 3, stressing that more than a million civilians, including at least 610,000 children, were "in direct line of fire" in Rafah.

Europe's highest rights body on Tuesday called on Britain to scrap a controversial plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda, saying it raised "major issues" over their rights and the rule of law.

Britain's parliament on Monday passed a bill under which asylum seekers would be deported to Rwanda to await a decision on their applications, in a bid by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to stop people making the dangerous sea crossing to the UK across the Channel.

Israel's apparent strike on Iran was deliberately limited in scope but sent a clear warning to the country's leadership about Israeli abilities to strike at sensitive targets.

Tehran refuses to recognise Israel, and for decades the two countries have waged a shadow war marked by covert Israeli operations inside Iran, and Iranian backing for anti-Israel militant groups including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

An independent review group on the UN agency for Palestinians found some "neutrality-related issues," its much-anticipated report said Monday, but noted Israel had yet to provide evidence for incendiary allegations that staff were members of terrorist organizations.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) remains "irreplaceable and indispensable to Palestinians' human and economic development" added the 54-page report, which was led by French diplomat Catherine Colonna.

An independent review group on the UN agency for Palestinians found "neutrality-related issues" but noted Israel had yet to provide evidence for allegations that a significant number of its staff were members of terrorist organizations.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) remains "irreplaceable and indispensable to Palestinians' human and economic development," added the report, which was headed by former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna.

Israel's war in Gaza has from the start been a "war on the right to health" and has "obliterated" the Palestinian territory's health system, a UN expert said on Monday.

Tlaleng Mofokeng, the United Nations special rapporteur on the right to health, accused Israel of treating human rights as an "a la carte menu".

Just days into the war that has been raging in Gaza since Hamas's unprecedented attacks inside Israel on October 7, "the medical infrastructure was irreparably damaged", she told reporters in Geneva.

Jailed Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi urged Iranians to protest a "full-scale war against women" after authorities intensified a crackdown obliging women to obey the country's Islamic dress code.

Mohammadi, who is held in Tehran's Evin prison, urged Iranian women to share their stories of arrest and sexual assault at the hands of the authorities via her Instagram page.

Israel's military intelligence chief has resigned after taking responsibility for failures leading to the October Hamas militant attack that triggered months of war, the military said on Monday.

Major General Aharon Haliva said he is still living with that "black day".

For Palestinians in Gaza, Monday was a day of fresh horror. The territory's Civil Defence agency said health workers had uncovered around 200 bodies over the past three days of people killed and buried by Israeli forces at a hospital in Khan Yunis city.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi held talks with Pakistani leader Shebaz Sharif in Islamabad on Monday, in what experts said was a "significant" visit aimed at mending ties after the neighbours traded deadly cross-border strikes earlier this year.

Prime Minister Sharif's office said the pair had a "vibrant discussion" on advancing bilateral relations -- specifically in trade and communication -- and also "agreed on the necessity for joint efforts by both countries to combat terrorism".

Jewish people marked Monday the start of Passover, a celebration of freedom, and around many holiday tables in Israel chairs stood empty for hostages still held captive in Gaza.

The week-long Jewish festival, also known in Hebrew as the "holiday of freedom", celebrates the Israelites' liberation from Egyptian slavery, as told in the Bible.

Passover is traditionally observed with a seder: a holiday feast when families eat symbolic foods and read the Haggadah.