By Alexander Cornwell and Timour Azhari

TEL AVIV/RIYDAH (Reuters) -Saudi Arabia's defacto ruler Mohammed bin Salman is set to press U.S. President Donald Trump to personally intervene to help end the war in Sudan during talks in Washington on Tuesday, five people familiar with the matter said.

The sources -- two Arab diplomats and three western diplomats -- said the Saudi Crown Prince believed Trump's direct pressure was needed to break a logjam in talks to end more than two and a half years of war, pointing to his work to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza last month.

By Suleiman Al-Khalidi

ALEPPO, Syria/AMMAN (Reuters) -Syria on Tuesday began the first trial of suspects in a wave of bloodshed in March during which pro-government fighters killed hundreds of members of the Alawite minority - a case seen as a test of President Ahmed al-Sharaa's promise of accountability.

DUBAI (Reuters) -Russian state conglomerate Rostec said on Tuesday that its defence exports fell by half since 2022 as domestic orders became a priority amid the fighting in Ukraine, but expects recovery soon.

Until 2022 Russia held second place in the world after the United States in defence exports, but the volumes dropped "due to the fact that we have had to supply most of our production to our army", Rostec Chief Sergey Chemezov told reporters.

Sanctions have complicated operations both in civil and defence sectors, but did not affect overall output, he said.

A knife attack by two Palestinian teenagers left an Israeli civilian dead and three others wounded in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, Israeli emergency services and the military said.

An army statement said soldiers had "eliminated two terrorists at the scene" and claimed "explosive materials were found in their vehicle".

The attack took place at the Gush Etzion Junction, a crossroads among a cluster of Israeli settlements on the main road south from Jerusalem to Hebron.

The Israeli military said it responded to a "ramming and stabbing attack".

By Suleiman Al-Khalidi

ALEPPO, Syria/AMMAN (Reuters) -Syria on Tuesday began the first trial of suspects in a wave of bloodshed in March during which pro-government fighters killed hundreds of members of the Alawite minority - a case seen as a test of President Ahmed al-Sharaa's promise of accountability.

By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Two Democratic U.S. senators wrote to President Donald Trump's administration on Monday raising "serious concerns" about Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff's potential financial conflicts of interest.

By Alexander Cornwell and Nidal al-Mughrabi

TEL AVIV/CAIRO (Reuters) -Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday called for Hamas to be expelled from the region, a day after the U.N. Security Council endorsed President Donald Trump's plan to end the war that offers the Palestinian militant group amnesty.

Netanyahu publicly endorsed the plan during a White House visit in late September. However, his latest remarks appear to show that there are differences with the United States on the path forward. Hamas has also objected to parts of the plan.

GENEVA (Reuters) -United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday called the passing of a U.S.-backed resolution on Gaza an important step in the consolidation of the ceasefire, in a statement sent to reporters.

The UN Security Council on Monday voted to adopt a U.S.-drafted resolution endorsing President Donald Trump's plan to end the war in Gaza and authorizing an international stabilization force there.

The UN's World Food Programme warned Tuesday that funding cuts mean it will struggle to feed even a third of the 318 million people facing severe hunger in 2026.

"Declines in global humanitarian funding are forcing WFP to prioritise food assistance to roughly one third of those in need," targeting 110 million of the most vulnerable, it said in a statement.

That would cost $13 billion, the agency estimated -- but warned that "current funding forecasts indicate WFP may only receive close to half that goal".

CAIRO (Reuters) -A Gaza company that operates water desalination plants serving nearly half of the enclave's population has stopped operations to protest at the detention by Hamas of one of its staff.

Youssef Yassin, a board member of the Abdul Salam Yassin Company, said the move would affect more than 1 million people who normally receive water from the company.

Over 70 trucks that carry water containers across the enclave have also stopped operations, he added, risking further supply disruption after the pipeline network was badly damaged during the war.