By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday it would probe the response of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, to claims of antisemitism on campus, in the latest federal investigation into a school over protests against Israel's assault on Gaza.

The Trump administration has threatened to cut federal funds to universities over campus pro-Palestinian protests. The government says universities allowed displays of antisemitism.

ROME (Reuters) -Pope Leo on Tuesday praised U.S. President Donald Trump's 20-point peace plan for Gaza, and expressed hope that the Palestinian militant group Hamas would endorse it.

"There are very interesting elements" in the plan, the pope was quoted as saying by Italy's ANSA news agency. "I hope Hamas will accept it within the established timeframe."

Hamas was not part of the talks that led to the proposal, which calls on the group to disarm, a demand it has previously rejected. It has said it will review the plan in good faith and provide a response.

In presenting a Gaza plan as an ultimatum to Hamas, US President Donald Trump has turned the tables to give Israel the advantage diplomatically -- and an even freer rein on the ground if a deal fails.

The White House on Monday released a 20-point plan that would end Israel's relentless nearly two-year offensive in Gaza, win the freedom of hostages and declare a special economic zone under Trump's tutelage.

ROME (Reuters) -Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Tuesday called on the international aid flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza to immediately stop their mission.

Insisting on a confrontation with Israel could upset the current "fragile balance" that could lead to peace based on the plan proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, Meloni said.

"Many would be happy to disrupt" that plan, Meloni said in a statement.

(Reuters) -The international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza said Italy had informed it on Tuesday that the naval frigate shadowing it would soon issue a radio call, offering participants the opportunity to abandon ship and return to shore before reaching a "critical zone".

The Global Sumud Flotilla said it would continue to sail onwards with over 40 civilian boats carrying parliamentarians, lawyers and activists including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, aiming to break Israel's blockade of the Palestinian enclave.

By Jonathan Saul and Lisa Baertlein

LONDON/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Yemen's Houthis will target U.S. oil majors including Exxon Mobil and Chevron despite an earlier truce agreed with President Donald Trump's administration to not attack U.S.-linked ships sailing in the Red Sea and the wider Gulf of Aden, the Iran-backed militia said on Tuesday.

By Tom Balmforth

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -Romania hopes to quickly set up production on its territory of defensive drones with Ukraine for domestic use as well as by European Union and NATO allies, Foreign Minister Oana Toiu said in an interview.

Toiu told Reuters talks with Ukraine began before a spate of airspace incursions that the region has blamed on Russia in recent weeks.

By Nate Raymond

BOSTON (Reuters) -A U.S. judge ruled on Tuesday that President Donald Trump's administration chilled free speech in violation of the U.S. Constitution by adopting a policy of revoking the visas of foreign students and faculty who engage in pro-Palestinian advocacy, and arresting, detaining and deporting them.

U.S. District Judge William Young in Boston sided with groups representing university faculty in finding that the administration was chilling free speech on college campuses in violation of the Constitution's First Amendment.

ROME (Reuters) -Italy's navy will stop following the international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza once it gets within 150 nautical miles (278 km) of the shore, the Italian defence ministry said on Tuesday.

The Global Sumud Flotilla, consisting of more than 40 civilian boats carrying parliamentarians, lawyers and activists including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, aims to break Israel's blockade of the Palestinian enclave.

By Nidal al-Mughrabi, Andrew MacAskill and Kate Holton

CAIRO/LONDON (Reuters) -When Tony Blair was first tasked with forging a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians in 2007, the White House cautioned that the former British prime minister was not "superman" and "he doesn't have a cape".

After failing to achieve much of note in that role, Blair is preparing once again to tackle one of the world's most intractable conflicts after agreeing to serve on a committee led by U.S. President Donald Trump to run Gaza.