The United States on Wednesday vetoed a draft UN Security Council resolution that demanded an "immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire" between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza and unhindered aid access across the war-torn enclave.

In temperatures that are expected to climb to more than 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), robed pilgrims will slowly circle the Kaaba, Islam's holiest site -- the black cubic structure at the centre of Mecca's Grand Mosque.

"It is unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food," Antonio Guterres said in a statement.

Israel recently eased its blockade and introduced a revamped aid mechanism in cooperation with a newly formed US-backed organization, bypassing the longstanding UN-led system.

Temperatures were forecast to exceed 40 degrees Celsius this week as one of the world's largest annual religious gatherings officially commences on Wednesday. 

"There is no humanitarian blockade. That is a blatant lie," Israel's foreign ministry said in a statement, defending its efforts to allow in aid. 

Iran carried out secret nuclear activities with material not declared to the UN nuclear watchdog at three locations that have long been under investigation, the watchdog said in a wide-ranging, confidential report to member states seen by Reuters.

The foreign ministers of several Arab countries, who had planned to visit the occupied West Bank this weekend, condemned on Saturday Israel's decision to block their trip.

The UN says that in the past 12 days it has only managed to transport some 200 truckloads of aid into Gaza, hindered by insecurity and Israeli access restrictions.

With international pressure mounting on Israel over the deepening hunger crisis in Gaza, Macron said action was needed "in the next few hours and days". 

They say it could deepen Western splits, not only within the already-divided European Union, but also with the United States, Israel's staunchest ally, and would need to be accompanied by other measures such as sanctions and trade bans if recognition were to be anything more than a symbolic gesture.

Israel accused the United Nations Wednesday of seeking to "block" Gaza aid distribution, as the global body said it was doing its utmost to gather the limited assistance greenlighted by Israel's authorities.

Indonesia has no formal ties with Israel and has consistently called for a two-state solution to the decades-long conflict.

Ramaphosa had hoped his talks with Trump in the White House on Wednesday would help reset relations with the United States that have nosedived since the US president took office in January.

It was not clear whether Israeli leaders have made a final decision and there was disagreement within the US government about whether they would ultimately decide to carry out strikes, CNN added, citing the officials.

Indonesia has condemned Israel’s continued attacks on the Gaza strip, including a recent assault targeting the Indonesia Hospital in Northern Gaza.

The top American diplomat blamed a resurgence of the Islamic State extremist group in areas outside of the transitional government's control, as well as Iran.

Al Thani dismissed concerns about Qatar trying to buy influence with its key ally, after US Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer introduced a bill on Monday that would prevent any foreign aircraft operating as Air Force One, the plane that transports the US president.

Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot also reaffirmed that Paris backed a Netherlands-led initiative for a review of the cooperation agreement between the European Union and Israel, which could affect political and economic ties.

Israel will allow a "basic amount" of food into the Gaza Strip, the prime minister's office has said, after facing mounting pressure to lift a total blockade imposed more than two months ago.

The US embassy in Libya denied on Sunday a report that the US government was working on a plan to relocate Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Libya.

The escalation also came as Hamas said a new round of indirect negotiations with Israel "without any preconditions" aimed at ending the war had started in Doha.

Democrats Chris Murphy, Chris Van Hollen, Brian Schatz and Tim Kaine, and Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, introduced resolutions of disapproval in the Senate that would block three arms sales to the UAE.

Legislators from across the Islamic world concluded the 19th Conference of the Parliamentary Union of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Member States (PUIC) in Jakarta on Thursday, adopting a declaration that calls for an immediate end to hostilities in Gaza and renewed international support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday Qatar Airways had placed a "record" order for 160 planes from Boeing, as he signed a raft of deals in Doha alongside Qatar's emir.

The Foreign Ministry said it continues to “closely monitor” the security situation in Libya following a new outbreak of armed clashes in Tripoli, urging its citizens in the North African country to stay vigilant and maintain contact with the Indonesian embassy for the foreseeable future. 

An Israeli airstrike on the Gaza Strip on Tuesday killed a well-known Palestinian journalist whom it accused of working with Hamas and was recovering in hospital from an earlier strike, the territory's health ministry said.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump lavished effusive praise on Saudi's de facto ruler, calling him "an incredible man" and a "great guy," and made no mention of human rights concerns in the country.

Indonesia kicked off the first day of its hosting of the Parliamentary Union of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Member States (PUIC) conference with the war in Gaza in focus, as legislators from across the Islamic world renewed calls for Palestinian independence.

An Israeli-American hostage was released from 19 months of captivity in Gaza during a brief pause in fighting on Monday and reunited with his family, but Israeli strikes on the battered enclave soon resumed.