Rights campaigner Narges Mohammadi "celebrated" her Nobel Peace Prize with fellow detainees in their Tehran prison cell, her family told AFP on Saturday.

"Narges learned that she had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize yesterday afternoon from messages sent from the men's unit, where they have easier access to telephones on Fridays," her family said.

That same evening, "state television broadcast the news at 10.30 pm with an insulting and defamatory portrait of Narges", the family's statement continued.

President Joe Biden pledged "rock solid" support for Israel on Saturday in the face of what he described as "terrorist assaults" by Palestinian militant group Hamas, with an announcement on US military assistance expected imminently.

High-level discussions between US and Israeli officials on military aid were already underway, a US senior administration official said, with an announcement by Washington possible as early as Sunday.

Countries around the world have condemned a wave of Palestinian attacks by land, sea and air that Israel's army says left more than 200 dead.

They accused fighters from the Palestinian militant group Hamas of breaking into homes and "massacring civilians".

"We are at war," Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, vowing severe retaliation after the surprise assault.

Here is a roundup of the reactions:

- United States -

President Joe Biden said US support for Israel was "rock solid and unwavering".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday warned of a "long and difficult" war, as fighting with Hamas left hundreds dead on both sides after a surprise attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group.

The conflict's bloodiest escalation in decades saw Hamas carry out a massive rocket barrage and ground, air and sea offensive Saturday that Israel's army said had killed more than 200 Israelis and wounded 1,000, while soldiers and civilians were taken hostage.

Runaway Formula One leader Max Verstappen dominated an intriguing floodlit qualifying session on Friday to claim pole position for the Qatar Grand Prix, which he could start as a triple world champion.

It was the 26-year-old Dutchman's 10th pole position of a commanding season for Red Bull.

He wound up four-tenths of a second ahead of nearest rival George Russell, whose Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton slipped from second to fourth, and then rose to third when the two McLarens had laps scrubbed out in a confusing final flurry.

Runaway series leader Max Verstappen topped the times for Red Bull in Friday's opening and sole practice session at this weekend's Qatar Grand Prix, endorsing the probability that he will clinch his third consecutive title.

The Dutchman, who celebrated his 26th birthday last weekend, clocked a best lap in one minute and 27.428 seconds to outpace the Ferraris of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc by 0.334 and 0.481 seconds respectively.

International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva called Monday for wealthy nations to provide more support to debt-saddled developing countries, as she opened the first IMF-World Bank meetings on African soil in 50 years.

The week-long talks in the southern Moroccan city of Marrakesh come as the IMF and World Bank are facing calls to reform in order to better help vulnerable nations deal with poverty and climate change.

Iraq on Friday signed an initial agreement with Turkmenistan to import much-needed gas for the country's insufficient and dilapidated electricity grid, officials said.

They added that talks are still needed to arrange transport through Iran.

Iraq, ravaged by decades of conflict and international sanctions, relies on gas imported from its eastern neighbour for almost one-third of its energy needs.

But Tehran regularly cuts supply over payment issues, further worsening the electricity outages that severely impact the daily lives of 43 million Iraqis.

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy was on Friday charged as part of an investigation into possible witness tampering, adding to his long list of legal woes, including over illegal campaign financing.

Following 30 hours of questioning over nearly four days, investigating magistrates decided they had grounds to charge Sarkozy with benefitting from witness tampering and conspiring to pervert the course of justice, a judiciary source told AFP.

Rights campaigner and 2023 Nobel Peace laureate Narges Mohammadi said in a September interview with AFP that she retained hope for change in Iran, despite having no prospect of release from prison and enduring the pain of separation from her family.

In the interview, where Mohammadi gave written answers to AFP from Evin prison in Tehran, she insisted the protest movement that erupted one year ago in Iran against the Islamic republic is still alive.