Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urgently worked to break a deadlock in coalition negotiations Tuesday as the once far-fetched possibility of fresh general elections only months after April polls loomed ever larger.

Thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv Saturday night to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's emerging coalition agreements, which opposition leaders said would constitute the end of the country's democracy. 

Syrian air defense batteries on Friday intercepted projectiles coming from Israel and downed a number of them, the official news agency SANA reported.

Palestinian leaders in Gaza agreed a ceasefire with Israel on Monday to end a deadly two-day escalation in violence that threatened to widen into war, officials with knowledge of the deal said.

An Israeli military spokeswoman declined to comment on the deal, but there appeared to have been no rocket fire or Israeli strikes after it was due to take effect, an AFP correspondent in Gaza said.

Israel reduced the offshore fishing limit it imposes for vessels operating out of Gaza from Tuesday following rocket fire from the territory by Palestinian militants, officials said.

Israeli forces destroyed two apartments in the occupied West Bank on Friday that housed the family of a Palestinian accused of killing an Israeli woman in February, the army said. 

Israeli forces destroyed the home on Wednesday of a Palestinian who was killed during his attempted arrest on suspicion of carrying out a December shooting.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to form a right-wing governing coalition on Thursday after securing victory in a high-stakes Israeli election despite a strong challenge from a centrist alliance.

Israelis voted Tuesday in a high-stakes election that will decide whether to extend Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's long right-wing tenure despite corruption allegations or to replace him with an ex-military chief new to politics.

The vote was expected to be close and likely lead to frantic negotiations to form a coalition once results are in, with opinion polls having shown Netanyahu best placed to do so.

U.S. President Donald Trump has voiced a cautious tone about the outcome of Israel's parliamentary vote, saying there is a "close" race for the premiership between "two good people."