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.

A Hamas official on Friday accused US envoy Steve Witkoff of distorting reality after he announced Washington's withdrawal from Gaza truce talks and accused the group of blocking a deal.

The Kremlin said Friday that it was "obviously" unlikely Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin would meet within 30 days, after Kyiv suggested a leaders summit before the end of August.

"A high-level meeting can and must put a definitive end to the settlement ... Is it possible to go through such a complex process in 30 days? Well, that is obviously unlikely," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters including AFP.