Libya's warring rival governments announced in separate statements Friday that they would cease all hostilities and organise nationwide elections soon, an understanding swiftly welcomed by the United Nations.

Senior Saudi security commanders were among a string of officials sacked over graft allegations at tourism projects, state media said Friday, in the government's latest anti-corruption purge.

Israeli planes launched raids against Gaza late Thursday in response to rocket fire, as mediators sought to broker an end to the latest flare-up.

The United States announced fresh sanctions on Thursday against several senior political, military and financial figures in the Syrian regime as part of the Caesar Act, which punishes any company that works with President Bashar al-Assad.

Saudi Arabia has said it will not follow the United Arab Emirates in establishing diplomatic ties with Israel until the Jewish state has signed an internationally recognized peace accord with the Palestinians.

The UAE last week became the first Gulf state to normalize relations with Israel, in a historic U.S.-brokered accord that raised the prospect of similar deals with other Arab states including Saudi Arabia.

Tehran said Thursday it seized an Emirati boat following a Gulf incident in which two Iranian fishermen died, stoking tensions after the UAE said it would establish ties with Iran's arch-enemy Israel.

Israeli tanks shelled Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip overnight in response to continued waves of incendiary balloons across the border, the army said Thursday.

Israeli warplanes bombed the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip overnight after Palestinians fired a rocket into southern Israel, the army said.

Israel's Mossad spy agency chief Yossi Cohen visited the United Arab Emirates for security talks, Emirati state media reported Tuesday, days after the countries agreed to establish diplomatic ties.

Pakistan's army chief arrived in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Monday, officials said, amid strained relations between the two countries over the disputed region of Kashmir.