The issue of conscripting ultra-Orthodox Jews into the Israeli army has become a thorn in the side of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, sparking threats to derail his coalition and trigger early elections if he ends a long-standing exemption.

Military service is mandatory in Israel, but under a ruling established at the country's creation -- when the ultra-Orthodox were a very small community -- men who devote themselves full-time to the study of sacred Jewish texts are given a de facto pass.

A series of Israeli air strikes hit Beirut's southern suburbs on Thursday night, after the military said it would target underground Hezbollah drone factories.

Plumes of smoke were seen billowing from the Lebanese capital, shortly after huge numbers of people had fled the area, clogging the roads with traffic.

Lebanese news agency ANI said it counted nearly a dozen strikes, including two which were "very violent". AFP journalists in the city heard at least two strong detonations.

Thousands of Israelis took to the streets under a heavy police presence for Jerusalem's annual Pride march Thursday, a decade after the murder of a teenager by a Jewish extremist during the same event.

The fatal stabbing of 16-year-old Shira Banki on July 30 that year, in an attack that also wounded six others, prompted police to step up their surveillance of Pride festivities in Jerusalem in the years that followed.

Hamas's lead negotiator said the group was ready to enter a new round of talks aimed at sealing a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, where rescuers said Israeli strikes killed at least 37 people on Thursday.

Negotiator Khalil al-Hayya made the declaration in a speech marking the start of Eid al-Adha festivities, typically a joyous date on the Muslim calendar, but one many Gazans say they will not be able to celebrate this year amid crushing shortages.

More than 130 news outlets and press freedom groups called Thursday for Israel to immediately lift a near-total ban on international media entering Gaza, while calling for greater protections for Palestinian journalists in the territory.

Israel has blocked most foreign correspondents from independently accessing Gaza since it began its war there following the unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack by militant group Hamas.

For the first time in his short life, Imad Dib, orphaned by the Gaza war, was preparing to celebrate the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha without his parents.

"Dad would buy us a sheep, but now we are alone," the 11-year-old said.

Before the war, he said, "I loved Eid so much, I was excited for it each year, to be able to celebrate and wear new clothes," he said of the Eid tradition, looking weary in his patched-up shoes.

French dock workers at a southern port were Thursday blocking the shipment of military material bound for Israel in protest at Israeli actions against Palestinians in Gaza, their union said.

The stevedores at the port in Fos-sur-Mer outside Marseille have refused to load crates of links used to assist the rapid fire of bullets aboard the cargo vessel, the CGT trade union said.

French dock workers at a southern port are blocking the shipment of military material bound for Israel in protest at Israeli actions against Palestinians in Gaza, their union said.

The stevedores at the port in Fos-sur-Mer outside Marseille have refused to load crates of links used to assist the rapid fire of bullets aboard the cargo vessel, the CGT trade union said.

Residents of the Libyan capital were preparing for the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha in relative peace after deadly clashes last month, but they were unconvinced it would outlast the festivities.

With celebrations set for Friday, Randa al-Mahmoudi, a schoolteacher in her thirties, said she was trying to keep life steady for her three children.

"We try, at least for the children, to do things as usual, without thinking about what might happen," she said, shopping in a supermarket in Siyahiya, a western district of Tripoli. "Otherwise, we can't live."

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Thursday that recognising a Palestinian state now would send "the wrong signal", despite moves by other European countries in that direction.

Speaking at a Berlin press conference with his Israeli counterpart Gideon Saar, Wadephul stressed German support for a two-state solution but said "negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians must be concluded" first.