Atop air strikes, displacement and hunger, an unprecedented water crisis is unfolding across Gaza, heaping further misery on the Palestinian territory's residents.

Gaza was already suffering a water crisis before nearly 22 months of war between Israel and Hamas damaged more than 80 percent of the territory's water infrastructure.

"Sometimes, I feel like my body is drying from the inside, thirst is stealing all my energy and that of my children," Um Nidal Abu Nahl, a mother of four living in Gaza City, told AFP.

(Reuters) -Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he spoke with the International Red Cross's regional head, Julien Lerisson, and requested his involvement in providing food and medical care to hostages held in Gaza.

(Reporting by Emily Rose; Editing by Toby Chopra)

Thousands of Palestinians protested in the occupied West Bank's major cities Sunday against the war in Gaza and in support of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

One of the largest marches took place in Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority located just north of Jerusalem, with hundreds gathering at the main square, waving Palestinian flags.

Many protesters carried photos of Palestinians killed or imprisoned by Israel, as well as photos depicting the hunger crisis unfolding in the Gaza Strip, where UN-backed experts have warned that a "famine is unfolding".

(Reuters) -Armed groups attacked personnel from Syria's internal security forces in Sweida, killing one member and wounding others, and fired shells at several villages in the violence-hit southern province, state-run Ekhbariya TV reported on Sunday.

The report cited a security source as saying the armed groups had violated the ceasefire agreed in the predominantly Druze region, where factional bloodshed killed hundreds of people last month.

By Cordelia Hsu and Jill Gralow

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Tens of thousands of demonstrators braved pouring rain to march across Sydney's iconic Harbour Bridge on Sunday calling for peace and aid deliveries in the war-torn Gaza Strip, where a humanitarian crisis has been worsening.

Nearly two years into a war that Palestinian authorities say has killed more than 60,000 people in Gaza, governments and humanitarian organisations say a shortage of food is leading to widespread starvation.

By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Jaidaa Taha

CAIRO (Reuters) -Egypt's state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV said on Sunday that two fuel trucks carrying 107 tons of diesel were set to enter Gaza, months after Israel severely restricted aid access to the enclave before easing it somewhat as starvation began to spread.

Gaza's health ministry has said fuel shortages have severely impaired hospital services, forcing doctors to focus on treating only critically ill or injured patients. There was no immediate confirmation whether the fuel trucks had indeed entered Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appealed to the International Committee of the Red Cross on Sunday for help aiding hostages in Gaza, as outrage built at videos showing two of them emaciated.

The premier's office said he spoke to the ICRC coordinator for the region, Julien Lerisson, and "requested his involvement in providing food to our hostages and... immediate medical treatment".

The ICRC said in a statement it was "appalled by the harrowing videos" and reiterated its "call to be granted access to the hostages".

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem on Sunday and said he prayed there, challenging rules covering one of the most sensitive sites in the Middle East.

Under a delicate decades-old "status quo" arrangement with Muslim authorities, the Al-Aqsa compound is administered by a Jordanian religious foundation and Jews can visit but may not pray there.

DUBAI (Reuters) -The commander-in-chief of Iran's military, Amir Hatami, said on Sunday that threats from Israel persist, according to state media.

In June, Israel and the U.S. launched strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities during the so-called 12-day war, in which Tehran retaliated against Israel with several barrages of missiles and drones.

The trickle of food aid Israel allows to enter Gaza after nearly 22 months of war is seized by Palestinians risking their lives under fire, looted by gangs or diverted in chaotic circumstances rather than reaching those most in need, UN agencies, aid groups and analysts say.

After images of malnourished children stoked an international outcry, aid has started to be delivered to the territory once more but on a scale deemed woefully insufficient by international organisations.