The Western Wall in Jerusalem on Monday was vandalized with graffiti condemning Israel's ongoing war in Gaza, authorities said, triggering widespread condemnation from religious leaders and politicians.

Iraq on Monday announced a nationwide power outage as rising temperatures pushed demand on the electricity grid to unprecedented levels.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended his plan to take control of Gaza City and target the remaining Hamas strongholds, saying Sunday it was "the best way to end the war", despite growing calls to stop the fighting.

More than 22 months into the war, sparked by Hamas' unprecedented attack on Israel, the country is gripped by a yawning divide pitting those demanding an end to the conflict and a deal for the release of the hostages against others who want to see the Palestinian militants vanquished once and for all.

Syria's interior ministry on Monday said it would hold accountable those responsible for the apparent killing of an unarmed man at a hospital during violence last month in Druze-majority Sweida province, after a purported video of the incident emerged.

Al Jazeera said two of its correspondents, including a prominent reporter, and three cameramen were killed in an Israeli strike on their tent in Gaza City on Sunday.

The Israeli military admitted in a statement to targeting Anas al-Sharif, the reporter it labelled as a "terrorist" affiliated with Hamas.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold a press conference with international media in Jerusalem on Sunday at 4:30 pm local time (13:30 GMT).

The press conference marks his first time to meet with the international press following his security cabinet's decision on Friday to expand the war in Gaza and take control of Gaza City.

Israel's far right pressed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to go harder against Hamas, ahead of a U.N. Security Council meeting Sunday on the premier's bid to conquer Gaza City.

Twenty-two months into the war in Gaza, Israel is gripped by a yawning divide, pitting those calling for an end of the conflict along with a deal for the release of the hostages against others who want to see Hamas vanquished once and for all.

Gaza's civil defense agency said at least 10 people were killed across the Palestinian territory on Saturday, including civilians who were waiting to collect aid.

A bill in Iraq that would further formalize the role -- and perhaps, the autonomy -- of a powerful coalition of pro-Iran former paramilitaries has sparked a heated debate, fanned in part by U.S. pressure.

Few details of the bill that could decide the future of the Hashed al-Shaabi alliance have been made public.

Mediators from Egypt and Qatar are working on a new framework which will include the release of all hostages — dead and alive — in one go in return for an end of the war in Gaza and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the strip, according to two Arab officials who spoke to The Associated Press anonymously due to the sensitivity of the discussions. One is involved directly in the deliberations and the second was briefed on the efforts.

The efforts have the backing of major Arab Gulf monarchies, the officials said, as they are concerned about further regional destabilization if Israel’s government proceeds with a full reoccupation of Gaza, two decades after Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from the strip.