Syria's army began shelling Kurdish-majority neighborhoods in the northern city Aleppo on Wednesday after its deadline for civilians to leave expired, an AFP correspondent said, on the second day of clashes between the two sides.

The Syrian government and Kurdish-led forces traded blame over who started the deadly clashes on Tuesday, with the two sides so far failing to implement a March deal to merge the Kurds' semi-autonomous administration and military into Syria's new Islamist government.

The deadliest clashes so far broke out Tuesday between Syrian government forces and Kurdish fighters in a contested area of the northern city of Aleppo, as efforts to merge the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces with the national army have shown little progress.

Syria 's state-run SANA news agency said a soldier was killed and three others were wounded in an attack by the SDF. State TV later reported that three civilians, including two women, were killed and others were wounded, including two children, in shelling of a residential area that it blamed on the SDF. SANA also said nine Aleppo Directorate of Agriculture employees were wounded by SDF shelling that hit its office.

By Kamran Talattof, University of Arizona

A familiar slogan has echoed through the streets of various Iranian cities in recent days: "Neither Gaza nor Lebanon, I sacrifice my life for Iran."

Hundreds of tourists are stuck on the Yemeni island of Socotra after flights were halted over clashes on the mainland, two officials and a travel agency told AFP Monday.

The island's deputy governor for culture and tourism, Yahya bin Afrar, told AFP: "We have more than 400 foreign tourists... their flights have been suspended." Another local government official gave a similar figure.

Syrian and Israeli officials are set to resume U.S.-mediated talks in Paris in hopes of reaching a security agreement to defuse tensions between the two countries, a Syrian official said Monday.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly, told The Associated Press that the delegation on the Syrian side will be headed by Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani and the head of the General Intelligence Directorate, Hussein Salameh.

Israeli authorities have told the Supreme Court that a ban on international media access to Gaza should remain in place, arguing it is necessary for security reasons, according to a government submission filed by the public prosecutor.

"Even at this time, entry of journalists into the Gaza Strip without escort, as requested in the petition, should not be permitted," said the government submission, a copy of which was obtained by AFP. "This is for security reasons, based on the position of the defence establishment, which maintains that a security risk associated with such entry still exists."

Israel's decision to revoke the licenses of more than three dozen humanitarian organizations this week has aid groups scrambling to grapple with what this means for their operations in Gaza and their ability to help tens of thousands of struggling Palestinians.

The 37 groups represent some of the most prominent of the more than 100 independent nongovernmental organizations working in Gaza, alongside United Nations agencies. Those banned include Doctors Without Borders, the Norwegian Refugee Council, Oxfam and Medical Aid for Palestinians.

Iran accused Israel on Monday of trying to undermine its national unity after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed support for protests in the Islamic republic.

"The Zionist regime (Israel) is determined to exploit the slightest opportunity to sow division and undermine our national unity, and we must remain vigilant," foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei said at a weekly press conference, before accusing Israeli and US leaders of "incitement to violence".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel stood in solidarity with the people of Iran as protests rocked several cities in the Islamic republic this week.

"We stand in solidarity with the struggle of the Iranian people and with their aspirations for freedom, liberty and justice," Netanyahu said at the weekly cabinet meeting.

Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi was in Damascus on Sunday for fresh talks with officials on integrating his forces into those of the central military, the Kurds' armed forces said.