By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S.-based charity HEAL Palestine and other rights groups criticized the State Department's decision to stop visitor visas for Palestinians from Gaza, saying it will harm wounded children seeking medical treatment on short-term U.S. visas.

The State Department said on Saturday it was halting all visitor visas for Gazans while it conducted "a full and thorough" review, after far-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer said Palestinian refugees were entering the U.S.

The United Nations Security Council began to debate Monday a resolution drafted by France to extend the UN peacekeeping force in south Lebanon for a year with the ultimate aim to withdraw it.

Israel and the United States have reportedly opposed the renewal of the force's mandate, and it was unclear if the draft text has backing from Washington, which wields a veto on the Council.

By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -The United Nations Security Council started negotiations on Monday on a French-drafted resolution to extend a long-running peacekeeping mission in Lebanon and signal an intention to work on an eventual withdrawal of the U.N. troops.

The U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), established in 1978, patrols Lebanon's southern border with Israel. The mandate for the operation is renewed annually, and its current authorization expires on August 31.

At the Rafah crossing into the Gaza Strip, hundreds of aid trucks sat unmoving in the Egyptian desert, stuck for days with only a handful allowed through by Israel to relieve the humanitarian disaster across the border.

After nearly two years of war, UN-backed experts have said famine is unfolding in the Palestinian territory, while there are also dire shortages of clean water and medicines.

Yet aid groups say the flow of essential supplies remains painfully slow, despite the growing crisis.

KINSHASA (Reuters) -The Congolese government and M23 rebels have missed Monday's deadline to reach a peace agreement in Doha, raising fears that tensions between the two parties might derail talks and reverse progress made to end the conflict.

Fighting in eastern Congo has intensified this year, with the M23 group launching an offensive that allowed it to capture the two largest cities in the region.

Irish author Sally Rooney has vowed to give fees generated by two BBC adaptations of her books to the Palestine Action group -- banned recently in the UK as a terrorist organisation -- as a government spokesperson on Monday warned anyone flouting the law risked prosecution.

The writer, whose second novel "Normal People" (2018) and its 2020 BBC television adaptation won her international acclaim, announced her plans in the Irish Times.

By Sarah El Safty and Maha El Dahan

DUBAI (Reuters) -Syria faces a potential food crisis after the worst drought in 36 years slashed wheat production by around 40%, squeezing the country's cash-strapped government, which has been unable to secure large-scale purchases.

Around three million Syrians could face severe hunger, the United Nations' World Food Programme told Reuters in written answers to questions, without giving a timeframe.

Over half of the population of about 25.6 million is currently food insecure, it added.

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

CAIRO (Reuters) -Fearing an Israeli onslaught could come soon, some Palestinian families began leaving eastern areas of Gaza City, now under constant Israeli bombardment, for points to the west and some explored evacuating further south.

Israel's plan to seize control of Gaza City has stirred alarm abroad and at home where tens of thousands of Israelis held some of the largest protests seen since the war began, urging a deal to end the fighting and free the remaining 50 hostages held by Palestinian militants in Gaza.

Hamas has accepted a new ceasefire proposal for Gaza, a senior member from the group said Monday, after a fresh diplomatic push to end more than 22 months of war.

Mediators Egypt and Qatar, backed by the United States, have struggled to secure a lasting truce in the conflict, which has triggered a dire humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

But after receiving a new proposal from mediators, Hamas said it was ready for talks.

By Alexander Cornwell and Alasdair Pal

TEL AVIV/SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia has cancelled the visa of an Israeli lawmaker from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's governing coalition who has advocated against Palestinian statehood and called for Israel to annex the occupied West Bank.

Simcha Rothman, a Knesset member from the Religious Zionism party led by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, was scheduled to visit Sydney and Melbourne this month at the invitation of a local conservative Jewish organisation.