The United States bas criticized the release from a French prison of pro-Palestinian Lebanese militant Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, who spent more than 40 years behind bars for the alleged killings of two diplomats, one of them American.

Abdallah was detained in 1984 and sentenced to life in prison in 1987 for his alleged involvement in the murders of U.S. military attache Charles Robert Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov in Paris.

Lebanon is mourning musician and composer Ziad Rahbani, son of iconic singer Fairuz and a musical pioneer in his own right, who died on Saturday aged 69 after a decades-long career that revolutionized the country's artistic scene.

Tributes poured in for Rahbani, also a playwright and considered the enfant terrible of Lebanese music, who left a huge mark on multiple generations with his often satirical plays and songs that for many reflected a deep understanding of Lebanon's political and economic reality.

Israeli troops boarded a boat which the pro-Palestinian activist group Freedom Flotilla had been sailing towards Gaza on Saturday, Israel said, a scene that was livestreamed by the group.

A Syrian diplomatic source said Saturday that a U.S.-mediated meeting with Israeli officials in Paris this week sought to "contain the escalation" after recent sectarian violence in southern Syria prompted Israeli intervention.

Aid trucks had begun entering the Gaza Strip from Egypt on Sunday, AFPTV footage showed, as Israel announced a "tactical pause" in parts of the devastated territory to allow deliveries.

Palestinians expressed mixed opinions Friday after French President Emmanuel Macron said he'd recognize a Palestinian state, with enthusiasm mitigated by the world's failure to stem suffering in Gaza.

"We hope it will be implemented, and we hope that most or all countries around the world will follow France's lead in recognizing the Palestinian people's right to an independent state," said Nabil Abdel Razek, a resident of Ramallah, home to the Palestinian Authority.

Gunmen killed five civilians during a "terrorist attack" on a judiciary building in southeast Iran on Saturday before being killed themselves, state media reported.

Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli operations killed 11 people on Saturday in the Palestinian territory devastated by over 21 months of war.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that Hamas did not want a ceasefire deal in Gaza, after Israel and the United States quit indirect negotiations with the Palestinian militant group.

"It was too bad. Hamas didn't really want to make a deal. I think they want to die," Trump said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday said that Hamas was obstructing a deal to released hostages held in Gaza, as indirect negotiations hit a dead end.