Hamas said it has responded to an Israeli proposal for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, as pressure mounted for a breakthrough to end almost two years of devastating conflict that has triggered a humanitarian crisis for civilians.

A Saudi delegation visiting Damascus on Wednesday sealed investment and partnership deals valued at more than $5 billion to help rebuild war-battered Syria, the oil-rich Gulf kingdom announced.

Israeli strikes in Gaza killed at least 21 people late Tuesday and early Wednesday, health officials said, as hunger worsened among Palestinians struggling to live under the weight of the 21-month war.

Desperation is mounting in the Palestinian territory of more than 2 million. An official familiar with the negotiations said Wednesday that special envoy Steve Witkoff planned to head to Rome for talks with an Israeli official as the U.S. tries to reach a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

Syria's interim government has requested Turkey's support to strengthen its defense capabilities, Turkish officials said, following sectarian violence over the past two weeks that increased tensions in Syria and drew Israeli intervention.

The defense ministry officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity according to procedures, said Wednesday that Syria has also sought assistance to combat "terrorist organizations," including the Islamic State group.

The U.N. Security Council urged the 193 United Nations member nations on Tuesday to use all possible means to settle disputes peacefully. The U.N. chief said that is needed now more than ever as he pointed to "the horror show in Gaza" and conflicts in Ukraine, Sudan, Haiti and Myanmar.

The vote was unanimous on a Pakistan-drafted resolution in the 15-member council.

More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since May while trying to get food in the Gaza Strip, mostly near aid sites run by an American contractor, the U.N. human rights office said Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Israeli strikes killed 25 people across Gaza, according to local health officials.

President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, planned to head to the Middle East as the U.S. tries once again to reach a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, the State Department's spokesperson said Tuesday.

Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters that Witkoff was going to the region with a "strong hope" that the U.S. can deliver a ceasefire deal as well as a new humanitarian corridor for aid distribution.

Australia's Parliament resumed Tuesday for the first time since the center-left Labor Party won one of the nation's largest-ever majorities in the May elections. The day was largely ceremonial, with reminders of conflict in the Middle East.

Hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered outside Parliament House on Tuesday, calling for the government to impose sanctions on Israel after Australia joined another 27 countries in issuing a joint statement, saying the war in Gaza "must end now."

Yemen's Houthis said they targeted Israel's main airport Tuesday for the second time since Israel struck a rebel-held port a day earlier, with the Israeli army reporting it had intercepted the missile.

The Houthis targeted Ben Gurion International Airport "using a 'Palestine 2' hypersonic ballistic missile", according to military spokesman Yarya Saree, who had hours earlier claimed a similar attack.

The Roman Catholic church's most senior cleric in the Holy Land said Tuesday that the humanitarian situation in Gaza was "morally unacceptable", after visiting the war-torn Palestinian territory.

"We have seen men holding out in the sun for hours in the hope of a simple meal," Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa told a news conference. "It's morally unacceptable and unjustified," he added.