Officials from Hamas and Islamic Jihad told AFP the two Palestinian militant groups would on Wednesday send to Israel a sample from a body recovered in the Gaza Strip.

A Hamas official said a team from the two groups' armed wings "found remains that are possibly those of an Israeli hostage" under the rubble in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, and that the Red Cross would transfer a sample to the Israeli side for examination.

The European Union on Wednesday issued updated guidance for asylum applications by Syrian nationals that reflects new conditions in Syria a year after the fall of the Bashar Assad. The changes may influence the result of asylum requests of some 110,000 Syrians who were still awaiting an asylum decision at the end of September.

The European Union Agency for Asylum said opponents of Assad and military service evaders "are no longer at risk of persecution."

Israel said Wednesday that partial remains returned by militants did not match the hostages remaining in Gaza, while it announced plans to reopen a key Gaza border crossing for the exit of Palestinians from the strip.

While the DNA findings marked a setback for ceasefire efforts, the reopening of the Rafah border crossing indicated that the U.S.-backed plan is still moving ahead.

U.S. President Donald Trump told Israel to avoid destabilizing Syria and its new leadership, days after a deadly operation by Israeli forces killed 13 people.

The Israeli army said on Sunday it had killed four Palestinian militants coming out of tunnels in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday the corruption cases against him were tearing Israel apart, after he submitted a formal request for a pardon in the long-running trials.

A new draft law on conscripting ultra-Orthodox Jews, whose support is crucial for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, has sparked uproar in Israel, with the opposition denouncing it as a special privilege for "draft-dodgers".

Syria on Friday condemned an Israeli military operation in southern Syria that killed 13 people overnight as a "war crime".

"Syria denounces... the criminal aggression" of the Israeli army in the village of Beit Jin, the foreign ministry said in a statement, adding that such acts aim to "ignite the region" in conflict.

Israeli forces on Thursday killed a pair of Palestinian men in the occupied West Bank after they appeared to surrender to troops, drawing Palestinian accusations that the men were executed "in cold blood." The Israeli military said it was investigating.

The killings, captured in videos shown on two Arab TV stations, came as Israel pressed ahead with its latest offensive in the West Bank, where the army has stepped up its activities over the past two years. Israel says it is cracking down on militants, but Palestinians and rights groups accuse Israel of using excessive force and say dozens of unarmed civilians have been killed.

Dozens of Tunisian political figures were sentenced on appeal to up to 45 years in prison for plotting against the state, local media reported Friday, in a trial rights groups have condemned as politically motivated.

"The Court of Appeal in Tunis issued a final ruling early Friday against the defendants in what is known as the conspiracy against the state case," said radio station Mosaique FM, citing an official source, adding the terms ranged from five to 45 years.