An Israeli strike flattened a high-rise in Gaza City on Saturday -- the second in as many days -- after the military warned people to move to a "humanitarian zone" ahead of a planned offensive against the urban hub.

Israel has been warning for weeks of a new assault on the territory's largest city, without issuing a timeline.

It has stepped up air strikes and ground operations on the city's outskirts, sparking fears it could worsen already dire conditions.

BEIRUT (Reuters) -Hezbollah official Mahmoud Qmati told Reuters on Saturday that the group considered Friday’s cabinet session on an army plan to establish a state monopoly on arms "an opportunity to return to wisdom and reason, preventing the country from slipping into the unknown".

Lebanon's cabinet on Friday welcomed a plan by the army that would disarm Hezbollah and said the military would begin executing it, without setting a timeframe for implementation and cautioning that the army had limited capabilities.

CAIRO (Reuters) -The Israeli military said early on Saturday it was establishing a humanitarian zone in the Al-Mawasi area of Gaza's Khan Younis, as it plans to expand military activities in the enclave.

The military said the area will include infrastructure such as field hospitals, water pipelines, desalination facilities, and food supplies. A spokesperson for the military called on Gaza residents to evacuate to the area.

(Reporting by Mayaan Lubell and Alexander Cornwell; Editing by Jan Harvey)

By Jonathan Landay

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Nearly a week after an earthquake killed more than 2,200 people in Afghanistan and left tens of thousands homeless, the United States has not taken the first step to authorize emergency aid, and it was unclear if it plans to help at all, two former senior U.S. officials and a source familiar with the situation told Reuters.

By Trevor Hunnicutt and Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that Washington was in "very deep" negotiations with Palestinian militant group Hamas and urged them to release all hostages held in Gaza.

"We are in very deep negotiation with Hamas," Trump told reporters, saying the situation will be "tough" and "nasty" if Hamas continues to hold Israeli hostages.

By Daphne Psaledakis and Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order paving the way for Washington to designate countries around the world a state sponsor of wrongful detention and impose punitive measures, including sanctions, on those it deems are wrongfully holding Americans.

At its premiere, a powerful new Gaza film at the Venice Film Festival sparked 23 minutes of sustained applause. But the next day hate emails flooded in, the director said Friday.

"The Voice of Hind Rajab" from French-Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania is a strong contender for the festival's Golden Lion to be awarded Saturday.

It has already garnered the support of famous Hollywood names attached as executive producers.

(Reuters) - Lebanon's cabinet on Friday welcomed a plan by the army that would disarm Hezbollah and said the military would begin executing it, without setting a timeframe for implementation and cautioning that the army had limited capabilities.

A national divide over Hezbollah's disarmament has taken centre stage in Lebanon since last year's devastating war with Israel, which upended a power balance long dominated by the Iran-backed Shi'ite Muslim group.

THE HAGUE (Reuters) -Three Palestinian human rights groups that had U.S. sanctions imposed on them for asking the International Criminal Court to investigate Israel over allegations of atrocity crimes in Gaza plan to continue their cooperation with the war crimes tribunal.

The groups are the Gaza-based Palestinian Centre for Human Rights and Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, and Al-Haq, based in the West Bank city of Ramallah. The sanctions were posted on the U.S. Treasury Department's website on Thursday and include blocking any provisions of funds, goods or services to them.

The Israel-Premier Tech team insists it will ride on in the Vuelta a Espana, even though repeated roadside pro-Palestinian protests forced one stage to be curtailed and several of its riders say they are scared.

The third most important race in the international calendar started in Italy on August 23 and once it entered Spain four days later, demonstrators began lining roads waving red, green, black and white Palestinian flags.

Protestors have run into the road, some have attempted to lie in the path of the peloton. At times riders have had to swerve or stop.