Hundreds of people demonstrated in Syria's southern city of Sweida and elsewhere on Saturday to demand the right to self determination for the Druze minority, the largest protests to take place since deadly clashes in the area last month.

Some of the protesters waved Israeli flags to thank Israel for intervening on their side during heavy clashes in mid-July between Druze militias and armed tribal groups and government forces.

Rights group Amnesty International on Monday accused Israel of enacting a "deliberate policy" of starvation in Gaza, as the United Nations and aid groups warn of famine in the Palestinian territory.

Israel's military said Sunday it struck an "energy infrastructure site" in Yemen used by the Houthi rebels, the latest action against the Iran-backed group which has launched attacks at Israel throughout the Gaza war.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has said the battle to unify his country after years of civil war "should not be with blood", rejecting any partition and accusing Israel of meddling in the south.

Demonstrators took to the streets across Israel Sunday calling for an end to the war in Gaza and a deal to release hostages still held by militants, as the military prepares a new offensive.

The Israeli military has said its troops are conducting a range of operations on the outskirts of Gaza City, ahead of a new major offensive to capture the sprawling municipal area.

Israel's finance minister has backed plans to build 3,400 homes in a particularly contentious area of the occupied West Bank, calling for the territory's annexation in response to several countries' plans to recognize a Palestinian state.

Arab nations have slammed comments by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apparently expressing support for the idea of an expanded "Greater Israel", calling the remarks a threat to their sovereignty at an especially tense time for the region.

The term Greater Israel refers to a biblical interpretation of the nation's territory during the time of King Solomon, encompassing not only the present-day Palestinian territories of Gaza and the occupied West Bank, but also parts of modern Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

A blast that rocked Syria's northwestern Idlib province on Thursday killed four people, state media said, though the cause had yet to be officially determined.

Residents told AFP they heard the sound of explosions on the western outskirts of the provincial capital, with a war monitor saying they came from a nearby base for foreign fighters.

Human Rights Watch alleged Thursday that an Israeli airstrike on a notorious Iranian prison was "an apparent war crime", while also accusing Tehran of harming and disappearing prisoners after the attack.

Israel struck Evin Prison in Tehran, one of Iran's most notorious detention facilities for political activists and dissidents, on June 23, during its 12-day war with the Islamic Republic.