Egypt proposed a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and its Islamist foe Hamas to start at 0600 GMT Tuesday and be followed by talks on easing the flow of goods into Gaza.

The proposal late on Monday came on the eve of a scheduled visit by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to Egypt, a traditional broker in Palestinian-Israeli conflicts, to push for a halt to seven days of exchanges that have left 184 Gazans dead.

Two nuns and three orphans were freed on Monday in Iraq's Islamist militant-held second city Mosul, the country's top Catholic leader said.

"Two nuns and three orphans were released today in one of the neighborhoods of Mosul," Chaldean Patriarch Louis Sako said, adding that they had not been harmed and no ransoms were paid.

Kuwait ordered its interior ministry Monday to review citizenship of people who threaten national security and vowed an "iron fist" policy, in a crackdown on dissent following violent protests.

Riot police earlier this month clashed with demonstrators protesting over the arrest and detention of prominent opposition leader Mussallam al-Barrak for allegedly insulting the judiciary.

The United States on Monday warned against any Israeli ground invasion of Gaza, saying it would put even more civilians at risk than are currently in the crossfire of attacks on Hamas.

But the White House stopped short of criticizing Israel over the civilian toll so far in Gaza of the offensive, saying the government had a "right" and "responsibility" to defend their citizens against rocket attacks.

The U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution Monday authorizing humanitarian convoys to Syria without the consent of the Damascus regime, to help more than one million civilians in rebel-held areas.

The council -- including Russia and China, who have vetoed four Western-backed draft resolutions on Syria since the start of the conflict in 2011 -- unanimously approved the measure.

The United Nations announced Monday it was evacuating its remaining staff from Libya because of a deteriorating security situation, a day after deadly clashes closed the country's main airport.

"UNSMIL (United Nations Support Mission in Libya) temporarily withdrawing staff from Libya because of security situation," the mission, which already pulled out dozens of personnel last week, said in a statement.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier called on Monday for Hamas to "immediately" stop rocket fire on Israel, as diplomatic efforts to halt a flare-up of violence around Gaza intensified.

"Firing rockets on Israel by Hamas should stop immediately," Steinmeier told a joint news conference with his Jordanian counterpart Nasser Judeh in Amman.

Washington's top diplomat is to head to the Middle East on Tuesday to throw his weight behind diplomatic efforts to end a devastating week-long conflict between ally Israel and its Islamist foe Hamas.

With Israel's punishing air campaign in its seventh day, the death toll in Gaza hit 177, prompting growing calls for a ceasefire which have so far showed little sign of progress.

The Palestinian Hamas movement said Monday that it would not end hostilities with Israel without concessions by the Jewish state and that no serious efforts towards a truce had been made.

"Talk of a ceasefire requires real and serious efforts, which we haven't seen so far," Hamas legislative member Mushir al-Masri told AFP in Gaza City.

Israel is to indict three Jewish extremists with murder over the brutal killing of a Palestinian teenager, officials said Monday, as it emerged their initial target was an eight-year-old child.

According to a statement given to Petah Tikvah magistrates court near Tel Aviv, a 29-year-old man and two minors aged 17 are to be charged on counts of murder, kidnapping with intent to murder, arson and attempted arson, all committed "on racist-nationalistic grounds," police said.