Deep differences exist between Hamas and Israel in negotiations for a Gaza truce, an official from the Palestinian militant group with knowledge of the talks told AFP on Saturday.

The difficult talks over a ceasefire and possible exchange of hostages and prisoners resumed in Doha this week, with Israel's spy chief joining Egyptian, Qatari and U.S. mediators.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant will leave Sunday for talks in the United States, the government said, amid growing tensions between the allies over the war in Gaza.

Gallant will meet with U.S. counterpart Lloyd Austin, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan "and additional senior officials", a statement said.

U.N. chief Antonio Guterres, on a visit to the doorstep of Gaza, appealed for a ceasefire to allow in more aid, saying the world has "seen enough" horrors in the Israel-Hamas war.

As Israeli forces pressed on with a multi-day raid on the territory's biggest hospital, Hamas officials reported 19 deaths at an aid distribution point on the outskirts of Gaza City.

U.S. fighter jets from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier struck three underground storage facilities in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen late Friday, according to a U.S. official. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a military operation not yet made public, said the ship is in the Red Sea.

Strikes and explosions were seen and heard in Sanaa on Friday night, according to witnesses and videos, some circulating on social media. Footage showed explosions and smoke rising over the Houthi-controlled capital.

The U.N. Security Council is set to vote on a resolution demanding a humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, but the United States warned the measure could hurt negotiations to halt Israeli-Hamas hostilities.

The resolution, put forward by the 10 elected council members, is backed by Russia and China, who vetoed a U.S.-sponsored resolution Friday that supported "an immediate and sustained cease-fire" in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

Russia and China on Friday vetoed a U.S.-backed draft resolution at the Security Council on a ceasefire in Gaza, with Moscow accusing Washington of a "hypocritical spectacle" that does not pressure Israel.

Russia and China both exercised their veto against the resolution, which would have spoken of the "imperative of an immediate and sustained ceasefire" and condemned the October 7 attack by Hamas.

A U.N. humanitarian official appealed Friday for more than $4 billion in life-saving aid for more than 10 million Syrians, saying that the country's largely forgotten crisis remains "one of the most deadly to civilians in the world."

Adam Abdelmoula, resident coordinator in Syria for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, made the appeal days after Syria marked the 13th anniversary of the conflict that has killed nearly a half million people and left large parts of the country destroyed.

After five months of fighting in Gaza and tens of thousands of casualties, the 27 European Union countries have overcome their differences and agreed to call for a cease-fire.

In a statement overnight, EU leaders called “for an immediate humanitarian pause leading to a sustainable ceasefire, the unconditional release of all hostages and the provision of humanitarian assistance.”

Normally festive Ramadan nights have become rife with danger in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, said hospital director Wisam Bakr, as surging violence casts a long shadow over the Muslim fasting month.

His hospital in the northern West Bank city of Jenin has been on the front line of the spike in violence since Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel triggered the war that is still raging in the Gaza Strip.

Israel reported Friday the seizure of 800 hectares of land in the occupied West Bank, which activists called the largest action of its kind in decades.

Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich declared as "state lands" the area in the northern Jordan Valley, as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel for Gaza war talks.