Damascus has carried out a wave of arbitrary arrests against former activists in rebel areas that surrendered under deals brokered by its ally Moscow, Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday.

Israel announced Tuesday it had eased fishing restrictions off the blockaded Gaza Strip after a ceasefire with Hamas ended a deadly escalation earlier this month.

Israel extended the fishing limit to up to 15 nautical miles, said COGAT, the defence ministry unit that oversees such regulations.

Saudi-owned media accused Yemeni rebels Tuesday of targeting Islam's holiest city Mecca after Riyadh and its allies said they had intercepted two missiles over the kingdom.

After years of assassinations, bombings and militia firefights, Libya's eastern city of Benghazi finally feels safe again — but security has come at a heavy cost.

Uniformed police are out at major intersections, cafes and restaurants stay open late into the night, and local groups hold art exhibitions and festivals. But the city center lies in ruins, thousands remain displaced, and forces loyal to commander Khalifa Hifter, who now controls eastern Libya, have cracked down on dissent.

Egyptian authorities have ordered the release of a former diplomat who was detained after proposing a referendum on the regime of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, his lawyer said on Monday.

Yemen's Houthi rebels said Tuesday they launched a bomb-laden drone into Saudi Arabia, targeting an airport with a military base — an attack acknowledged by the kingdom as Mideast tensions remain high between Iran and the United States.

It was not clear if there were any injuries or what the extent of damage was.

A U.N. team investigating the massacre of Iraq's Yazidi minority and other atrocities has excavated 12 mass graves and is collecting witness accounts that could be used in Iraqi and other national courts, according to a U.N. report seen by AFP on Monday.

Leading Iraqi Shiite figures warned Monday against attempts to pull their country into a war between the U.S. and Iran, saying it would turn Iraq into a battlefield yet again, just as it is on the path to recovery.

The warning came hours after a rocket slammed into Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, landing less than a mile from the sprawling U.S. Embassy. No injuries were reported and no group immediately claimed the Sunday night attack.

Just a month before the African Cup of Nations, Egypt was hit by a bomb blast that undermined efforts to burnish its image as a bulwark of stability after years of turmoil.

The Palestinian leadership said Monday it was not consulted over an economic conference next month in support of Washington's Middle East peace plan and no party was entitled to negotiate on its behalf.