EU leaders on Thursday called for "humanitarian corridors and pauses" in Israel's war with Hamas to get aid into Gaza, after hours of negotiations at a summit of the bloc in Brussels.

The European Union has struggled for both unity and influence in the face of the crisis that has engulfed the Middle East since Hamas launched its bloody attack on Israel on October 7.

The surge in bloodshed has divided Europe's attention at a time of rising doubts about the West's ability to keep supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia.

The shops have not yet opened, but the air-conditioned concourse of a Riyadh shopping mall is crowded anyway -- a haven for walkers and joggers grateful for somewhere cool to exercise.

The early-morning crowd includes 55-year-old engineer Mohammed Sultan, in a white T-shirt and black trainers, doing laps around the mall trailed by his niqab-wearing wife.

EU leaders will on Thursday debate calling for a "humanitarian pause" in Israel's war with Hamas, as the bloc grapples with another conflict on its fringes alongside Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The European Union has struggled for both unity and influence in the face of the crisis that has engulfed the Middle East since Hamas launched its surprise attack on Israel on October 7.

The surge in bloodshed has stretched Europe's attention at a time of rising doubts about the West's ability to keep supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia.

Hundreds of Palestinian journalists have had to flee south from Gaza City and work in fear for their lives in appalling conditions as Israeli air raids pound the territory.

Tents in a hospital courtyard have become their newsroom by day and dormitory at night.

Some work for local media outlets and others for international news organisations. But all suffer the same ordeal as they try to do their jobs amid the violence and suffering caused by the Israel-Hamas war.

US President Joe Biden called Wednesday for world leaders to develop plans for a "path toward peace" including two-state solution when the Israel-Hamas war is over.

Biden also said during a visit by the Australian prime minister that while Israel has the right to respond to the October 7 Hamas attack it must do everything it can to protect civilians.

But as international pressure mounts for a ceasefire, Biden added that he "did not demand" that Israel delay a ground invasion of Gaza, which Israel has been pounding since the attacks.

Nearly two decades after Israeli settlers left Gaza, the October 7 attacks and war against Hamas militants have rekindled a wish among some of a return to the Palestinian territory.

"It cannot be more dangerous to have our families inside Gaza than next to Gaza," said Zevulun Kalfa, 61, recalling the bloody assault earlier this month that hit his kibbutz and other Israeli communities near the border of the blockaded Strip.

Kalfa has fond memories of his years in the former Israeli settlement of Atzmona, just north of Rafah in the southern Strip.

American and allied forces deployed in Iraq and Syria as part of an international anti-jihadist coalition have been repeatedly targeted by drone and missile attacks this month.

Although the attacks have not been claimed by a known group with documented links to Iran, Washington says Tehran is involved and has threatened to respond "decisively" to strikes by its proxies.

- Why have attacks increased? -

The UN Security Council on Wednesday failed again to take action on the Israel-Hamas war, with Russia and China vetoing a US-led draft resolution and a text led by Moscow drawing insufficient support.

The rival powers went ahead and put forward texts doomed to defeat despite what diplomats said was a last-ditch effort led by France to delay a vote and work toward consensus.

Polish-born Israeli historian Alex Dancyg has dedicated his life to passing on the memory of the Holocaust. Now the 75-year-old is feared to be among the hostages Hamas in holding in war-torn Gaza.

Desperate for his safe return, friends and family have launched a campaign to build pressure for his release -- echoing similar efforts for captives from Israel to the United States and Thailand.

The world's top management consultancy McKinsey & Company is using its position as a key advisor to the UN's COP28 climate talks to push the interests of its big oil and gas clients, undermining efforts to end the use of the fossil fuels driving global warming, according to multiple sources and leaked documents.

Behind closed doors, the US-based firm has proposed future energy scenarios to the agenda setters of the summit that are at odds with the climate goals it publicly espouses, an AFP investigation has found.