Local and international rights groups on Thursday accused Egypt of "harassing and intimidating" the relatives of a US rights activist after he lodged a complaint against a former prime minister. 

Growing desperation in Syria could trigger another mass exodus unless donor countries send more funds to alleviate hunger and the international community ensures aid shipments can reach the war-ravaged country, the head of the U.N. food agency said Thursday.

World Food Program Executive Director David Beasley said it's critical to keep aid flowing through border crossings, at a time when growing numbers of people are "literally on the brink of starvation."

Gaza rulers Hamas warned Thursday that Israel's planned annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank would amount to a "declaration of war" against Palestinians.

"The resistance considers the decision to annex the West Bank and the Jordan Valley to be a declaration of war on our people," said Abu Ubaida, spokesman for Hamas's armed wing.

The Palestinian Authority has announced a multi-million-dollar fund to support residents of the Jordan Valley, just days before Israel intends to start annexing the strategic swathe of the occupied West Bank.

Tunisian youths clashed with police overnight in a town in Tunisia's deprived south, where a protest movement is demanding jobs and services, the interior ministry said Wednesday.

Syrian air defenses responded to Israeli attacks on military posts in a central province early on Wednesday, shortly after similar attacks in the south killed two soldiers, the defense ministry in Damascus said.

State media cited a military official as saying the attack targeted posts in rural areas of Hama province. Air defenses were activated and reportedly intercepted a number of the incoming missiles.

Two Syrian soldiers were killed and four others wounded in Israeli strikes Tuesday in the southern province of Sweida, a military source said, reporting other raids elsewhere in the war-torn country. 

The Arab League on Tuesday pressed Libya's warring parties and their foreign backers to halt fighting and restart peace talks, as regional tensions threaten a new escalation in the oil-rich country's years-long conflict.

Following an emergency meeting requested by Egypt, Arab League foreign ministers warned against a "continuation of military action that alters existing front lines." The statement came as a coalition of Turkish-backed forces based in the capital, Tripoli, pushed toward the key coastal city of Sirte.

Five people were sentenced Tuesday in Algeria to between six months and a year behind bars after taking part in a banned demonstration, prisoners' rights group CNLD said.

Baby Omar Yaghi was eight months old when he died, unable to travel from Gaza to Israel for life-saving heart surgery after Palestinian officials cut coordination.