LONDON (Reuters) -British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is "gravely concerned" about the repeated targeting of journalists in Gaza, his spokesperson said on Monday, after five reporters were killed in an Israeli airstrike.

Israel's military said it targeted and killed prominent Al Jazeera journalist Anas Al Sharif, alleging he had headed a Hamas militant cell and was involved in rocket attacks on Israel.

Al Jazeera, which is funded by the Qatari government, rejected the assertion, and before his death,Al Sharif had also rejected such claims by Israel.

PARIS (Reuters) -French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday slammed Israel's plans to step up its military operation in Gaza as a 'disaster waiting to happen' and proposed an international coalition under a United Nations mandate to stabilise Gaza.

(Reporting by Michel Rose;Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)

Gazans gathered on Monday for the funeral of five Al Jazeera staff members and a sixth reporter killed in an Israeli strike, with Israel calling one of them a "terrorist" affiliated with Hamas.

Dozens stood amid bombed-out buildings in the courtyard of Al-Shifa hospital to pay their respects to Anas al-Sharif, a prominent Al Jazeera correspondent aged 28, and four of his colleagues, killed on Sunday.

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

CAIRO (Reuters) -Palestinians reported the heaviest bombardments in weeks on Monday in areas east of Gaza City, just hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he expected to complete a new expanded offensive in the enclave "fairly quickly".

An airstrike also killed six journalists, including prominent Al Jazeera correspondent Anas Al Sharif, in a tent at the Al Shifa Hospital compound.

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia will recognise a Palestinian state in September at the United Nations General Assembly to add momentum for a two-state solution, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday.

Albanese, who made the announcement following a cabinet meeting, said recognition will be predicated on commitments Australia received from the Palestinian Authority, including that Hamas would have no involvement in any future state.

(Reuters) -New Zealand is considering recognition of a Palestinian state, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said on Monday.

Peters said Prime Minister Christopher Luxon's cabinet would make a formal decision in September and present the government's approach at the U.N. Leaders' Week.

(Reporting by Christine Chen in Sydney; Editing by Jamie Freed)

Against the backdrop of southern Oman's lush mountains, men in traditional attire chant ancient poems in an ancient language, fighting to keep alive a spoken tradition used by just two percent of the population.

Sitting under a tent, poet Khalid Ahmed al-Kathiri recites the verses, while men clad in robes and headdresses echo back his words in the vast expanse.

"Jibbali poetry is a means for us to preserve the language and teach it to the new generation," Kathiri, 41, told AFP.

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia plans to recognise a Palestinian state as early as Monday following similar moves by France, Britain and Canada, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese could sign off on the move after a regular cabinet meeting on Monday, the SMH reported, citing unidentified sources.

Albanese's office did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.

(Reuters) -Israel's military said it killed Al Jazeera journalist Anas Al Sharif, whom it claimed headed a Hamas cell, in a strike on Gaza City on Sunday.

The Qatari broadcaster said three other of its journalists were also killed, and an official at nearby Shifa Hospital said there were seven people killed in total.

"Anas Al Sharif served as the head of a terrorist cell in the Hamas terrorist organization and was responsible for advancing rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF (Israeli) troops," the Israeli military said in a statement.

Al Jazeera said two of its correspondents, including a prominent reporter, and three cameramen were killed in an Israeli strike on their tent in Gaza City on Sunday.

The Israeli military admitted in a statement to targeting Anas al-Sharif, the reporter it labelled as a "terrorist" affiliated with Hamas.

The attack was the latest to see journalists targeted in the 22-month war in Gaza, with around 200 media workers killed over the course of the conflict, according to media watchdogs.