Israel sent troops into a hospital in war-torn Gaza on Thursday where it said hostages may have been held, as medics warned the key medical facility was operating in "near impossible" conditions.

The raid came after days of intense fighting between troops and Hamas militants around the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis -- one of the largest medical sites in southern Gaza, and one of the territory's few hospitals that are still operational.

Much of Libya is bone-dry desert but one Mediterranean coastal town is suffering the opposite problem -- its houses and fields have been inundated by a mysterious upsurge of groundwater.

Stagnant water and squishy mud have flooded houses, streets and palm groves around the northwestern town of Zliten, spreading a foul smell and creating breeding grounds for mosquitos.

Many locals have fled their homes, where walls have cracked or collapsed, amid fears of a worsening environmental crisis in the area about 160 kilometres (100 miles) east of the capital Tripoli.

Mandy Hoyland doesn't know any of the 130 hostages being held in Gaza by Hamas. But she was still emotional as she wandered through Tel Aviv's "Hostages Square".

After travelling from Beit Shemesh, around 60 kilometres (37 miles) from Tel Aviv, the 63-year-old did not hide her pain as she examined photos of the hostages displayed across the plaza.

"I feel a lot of sorrow, truly, and sadness... I don't know any hostages but they are our brothers and sisters," she told AFP.

President Joe Biden has shielded Palestinians in the United States from deportation for 18 months, the White House said Wednesday, as he faces growing anger over his support for Israel's Gaza offensive in an election year.

Biden signed an order saying the Palestinians should not be deported "in light of the ongoing conflict and humanitarian needs on the ground" in the Gaza Strip, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said.

Nine people, seven of them civilians, were killed on Wednesday in Israeli strikes on south Lebanon, official sources said, while the Israeli army said it lost a soldier in cross-border rocket fire.

While the rocket attack was not immediately claimed, the exchanges of fire -- and the worst single-day civilian death toll in Lebanon since cross-border hostilities began in October -- raised fears of a broader conflict between Israel and militant group Hezbollah.

The United States on Wednesday rebuked Israel for demolishing the home of a Palestinian activist in east Jerusalem, saying its ally was damaging its own standing.

The unusually forceful US condemnation of Israeli actions came hours after Fakhri Abu Diab, a campaigner against demolitions, said that dozens of Israeli personnel tore down his home of 38 years near the Old City.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday inaugurated a major Hindu temple and the first in Abu Dhabi while on a two-day visit to the Gulf emirate.

"This temple has infused new energy into our age-old relationship," Modi said, referring to India and the United Arab Emirates.

"This temple will become a symbol of religious unity and global harmony," he added.

The UAE is home to around 3.5 million Indian nationals -- the largest expatriate community in the Gulf country.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said in Cairo on Wednesday that they were turning a "new leaf" in their relations after over a decade of estrangement.

The two leaders also criticised Israel's conduct of the war in the Gaza Strip and called for a ceasefire.

Sisi welcomed Erdogan with great fanfare at Cairo airport before the pair signed several agreements.

Issa Ibrahim scrolls through photos on his phone showing off his infantry brigade fighting in Gaza.

"I'm the only Arab!" said the resident of Abu Gosh, a small Israeli Arab town holding on to its centuries-old tradition of Muslim-Jewish coexistence.

"My mother asked me: 'You're going to fight Palestinians?' But she understood my argument. I want to defend my country, Israel. We just want to live in peace," the young photographer and army reservist told AFP.

Medics are sounding the alarm at southern Gaza's Nasser hospital, where a nurse said snipers are killing people, sewage has flooded the emergency room and drinking water has run out.

"It was a black night, with strikes and explosions all night," Mohammed al-Astal, a nurse in the emergency department, told AFP on Wednesday.

Fighting between Israeli soldiers and Hamas militants has taken place all around Nasser hospital in the southern Gazan city of Khan Yunis.