Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met with Saudi Arabia's top diplomat in Damascus on Tuesday, state media reported, ending more than a decade of diplomatic deep-freeze between the two countries.

"President Bashar al-Assad meets Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan," Syria's official news agency SANA reported.

For many Palestinians, the journey to one of Islam's most sacred sites on the holiest night of Ramadan begins in a dust-choked, garbage-strewn maelstrom.

Tens of thousands of Palestinian worshippers from across the occupied West Bank on Monday crammed through a military checkpoint leading to Jerusalem to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque for Laylat al-Qadr, or the "Night of Destiny," when Muslims believe that the Quran was revealed to the Prophet Mohammad centuries ago.

A suspected Palestinian gunman wounded two men near a Jewish site in annexed east Jerusalem on Tuesday, Israeli authorities said, with security forces conducting a manhunt for the perpetrator.

The shooting came days before the end of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, which has seen deadly attacks and clashes in Israel, annexed east Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank.

A helicopter raid by U.S. forces in northern Syria early on Monday resulted in the "probable death" of a senior leader of the militant Islamic State group, the U.S. military said.

The U.S. Central Command said in a statement that the IS leader, who was not named, was "responsible for planning terror attacks in the Middle East and Europe." Two other "armed individuals" were killed along with the target of the raid, CENTCOM said. The statement said no civilians or U.S. troops were hurt in the operation.

Suspected Islamic State group fighters killed at least 36 truffle hunters and five shepherds in Syria, a monitor said, in the latest attacks by jihadists in the war-ravaged country.

Rami Abdel Rahman of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told AFP the jihadist group "killed 36 people on Sunday while they were collecting truffles in the desert east of (the central city) Hama".

Christian worshippers thronged the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem to celebrate the ceremony of the "Holy Fire," an ancient ritual that sparked tensions this year with the Israeli police.

In the annual ceremony that has been observed for over a millennium, a flame taken from Jesus' tomb is used to light the candles of fervent believers in Greek Orthodox communities near and far. The devout believe the origin of the flame is a miracle and is shrouded in mystery.

After meeting in Saudi Arabia to discuss Syria's political fate, a group of regional leaders promised to continue talks to reach a political solution to the Syrian conflict, but stopped short of endorsing its return to the Arab League.

The meeting, which included top diplomats from the Arab Gulf countries as well as Egypt, Jordan and Iraq, was convened days after Syria's foreign minister visited Saudi Arabia for the first time since the kingdom cut off diplomatic relations with Syria in 2012.

Iran's president has delivered an unprecedented speech to an annual pro-Palestinian rally in the Gaza Strip — a display of Iran's importance to the Hamas militant group that rules the territory.

In a virtual address to hundreds of supporters of Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad group gathered at a soccer field, Ebrahim Raisi urged Palestinians to press on with their struggle against Israel.

A flight carrying Huthi rebel prisoners of war left Saudi Arabia on Saturday bound for Yemen's rebel-held capital Sanaa, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said.

The flight from the southern Saudi city of Abha took off before 9 am (0600 GMT) carrying 120 former detainees, ICRC public affairs and media adviser Jessica Moussan said.

Diplomats meeting in Saudi Arabia agreed Saturday that the Arab world must play a leading role in efforts to broker a solution to Syria's war, following talks aimed at easing Damascus's isolation.

Top diplomats from the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries -- Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates -- plus Egypt, Iraq and Jordan met in Saudi Arabia at the kingdom's request.