Syria's rebel leader said Wednesday that officials involved in torturing detainees will not be pardoned, after thousands were released while families hoped to find others who disappeared in the country's notorious jails.

"We will not pardon those involved in torturing detainees," said Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, now using his real name Ahmed al-Sharaa, urging "countries to hand over any of those criminals who may have fled so they can be brought to justice".

Syria's new transitional prime minister has called for Syrians who have sought refuge abroad to return to their homeland following the ouster of longtime president Bashar al-Assad.

Mohammad al-Bashir, appointed by rebel groups as the transitional head of government to run the country until March, told Italy's Corriere della Sera daily that one of his first goals was to "bring back the millions of Syrian refugees who are abroad".

Many in Lebanon who suffered through decades of brutal rule in Syria that extended across the border say the fall of longtime leader Bashar al-Assad is "divine justice," but want him held accountable.

Hezbollah has expressed hope that neighboring Syria's new rulers would reject the "Israeli occupation" of their land, days after the ouster of president Bashar al-Assad.

"We hope to see Syria stabilize... and take a firm stand against Israeli occupation, while preventing foreign interference in its affairs," the Iran-backed group said in a statement.

French President Emmanuel Macron aims to name a new Prime Minister "within 48 hours", party chiefs who met him on Tuesday told AFP, after premier Michel Barnier was toppled last week.

Macron had gathered leaders of major political parties at his Elysee Palace office in a bid to thrash out the conditions for a new government that could escape losing a no-confidence vote in France's hung parliament.

A Russian strike on Tuesday killed three people and wounded 11 others in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, the local governor said.

"Three people were killed," said governor Ivan Fedorov, adding that "rescuers are searching for people under the rubble of a clinic destroyed by a Russian missile."

Eight people were killed and three more injured when a six-story residential building collapsed in central Cairo on Tuesday, Egypt's health ministry said.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Tuesday peace talks on ending Russia's war in Ukraine could begin this "winter", as Warsaw gears up to take over the rotating EU presidency in January.

"Our presidency will notably be co-responsible for what the political landscape will look like, perhaps how the situation will look during (peace) negotiations, which could begin -- though there are still question marks -- in the winter of this year," Tusk told reporters.

Britain, France and Germany on Tuesday pressed Iran to "immediately halt its nuclear escalation" after the IAEA reported Tehran had sharply stepped up uranium enrichment activity.

Gaza's civil defense agency said Tuesday that Israeli strikes in the north of the Palestinian territory had killed 25 people, including women and children.

"At 8:00 PM last night, Israeli strikes targeted a multi-story building belonging to the Al-Kahlut family, killing 25 people. Sixteen bodies have been identified, while others remain trapped under the rubble," civil defense spokesman Mahmoud Bassal told AFP, adding five women and five children were among the dead. The Israeli army did not comment on the strike.