Thousands joined a New Year's Day rally for Gaza in Istanbul Thursday, waving Palestinian and Turkish flags and calling for an end to the violence in the tiny war-torn territory.

Demonstrators gathered in freezing temperatures under cloudless blue skies to march to the city's Galata Bridge for a rally under the slogan: "We won't remain silent, we won’t forget Palestine," an AFP reporter at the scene said.

Israel on Thursday said 37 humanitarian agencies supplying aid in Gaza had not met a deadline to meet "security and transparency standards", and would be banned from the territory, despite an international outcry.

The international NGOs, which had been ordered to disclose detailed information on their Palestinian staff, will now be required to cease operations by March 1.

The United Nations has warned that this will exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.

US President Donald Trump hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a glittering New Year's Eve party at his lavish Mar-a-Lago resort on Wednesday, according to social media.

Netanyahu, who arrived at the US president's Palm Beach residence on Monday, was spotted alongside tuxedo-clad Trump Wednesday night in a social media post from conservative influencer Michael Solakiewicz.

Trump had joked that the Israeli leader could attend the party during meetings Monday to discuss the fragile Gaza ceasefire and other regional geopolitical concerns in the Middle East.

By Jasper Ward

Dec 31 (Reuters) - United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemned on Wednesday a move by Israel to ban electricity or water to facilities owned by the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency, a U.N. spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said the move would "further impede" the agency's ability to operate and carry out activities.

Dec 31 (Reuters) - The European Union said on Wednesday that recent developments in the Yemeni provinces of Hadramout and Al Mahra threaten to bring new risks to the Gulf region.

"The EU calls for de-escalation and avoiding steps that further threaten stability of Yemen and the region," an EU spokesperson said in a statement.

"The EU reiterates its strong commitment to the unity, sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Yemen, as well as its support for the Presidential Leadership Council and the Government of Yemen," the spokesperson added.

The United States has granted a temporary licence to NIS, a majority-Russian owned Serbian oil company caught up in US sanctions against Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, a Serbian minister said on Wednesday.

Washington's sanctions on the Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS), part of its crackdown on Russia's energy sector, forced Serbia's sole oil refinery, which supplies around 80 percent of the Serbian market, to shut down in early December.

By Yousef Saba

DUBAI, Dec 31 - The United Arab Emirates has pursued an assertive foreign policy and carved its own sphere of influence across the Middle East and Africa, a strategy in the spotlight after a rare military escalation with Saudi Arabia in Yemen this week.

Abu Dhabi has used alliances with states or proxies, military intervention and financial support mainly to counter what it views as the destabilising threat of political Islam, specifically from groups linked to the Muslim Brotherhood.

DUBAI, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Oman's foreign minister met his Saudi counterpart in Riyadh on Wednesday to discuss finding a political solution to the crisis in Yemen, Oman's Foreign Ministry said.

The meeting came a day after a Saudi-led strike on Yemen's southern port of Mukalla, which raised tensions between Riyadh and the United Arab Emirates.

In recent weeks, a Saudi-led coalition has clashed with UAE-backed southern separatists in Yemen. The UAE has said it is ending its remaining military mission there, highlighting a widening rift between the Gulf allies.

Israeli bulldozers began demolishing 25 buildings housing Palestinians in a refugee camp on Wednesday, in what the military said was an effort to root out armed groups in northern areas of the occupied West Bank.

The buildings, home to some 100 families, are in the Nur Shams camp, a frequent site of clashes between Palestinian militants and Israeli forces.

Israeli military bulldozers and cranes tore through the structures early Wednesday, sending thick plumes of dust into the air, an AFP journalist reported. Many residents watched from a distance.

Israel plans to ban 37 aid organisations from operating in Gaza from Thursday unless they hand over detailed information on their Palestinian staff, despite mounting criticism from the United Nations and the European Union.

Several NGOs have told AFP the new rules will have a major impact on food and medical shipments to Gaza, and humanitarian groups warn there is already not enough aid to cover the devastated territory's needs.

Israel's deadline for NGOs to provide the details expires at midnight on Wednesday.