Swiss socialite Jocelyne Wildenstein, also known as "catwoman" due to her extensive plastic surgery, has died aged 79, her partner said on Wednesday.

The Palestinian Authority has ordered the suspension of broadcasts by Qatar-based Al Jazeera and on Thursday accused it of incitement, which the news channel compared to Israeli practices.

Al Jazeera is already banned from broadcasting from Israel amid a long-running feud with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

Syrian security forces are conducting an operation in Homs city, state media reported on Thursday, with a monitor saying it targeted two districts that are home to the Alawite minority of toppled president Bashar al-Assad.

"The Ministry of Interior, in cooperation with the Military Operations Department, begins a wide-scale combing operation in the neighborhoods of Homs city," state news agency SANA said quoting a security official.

Israel has warned that it will intensify its strikes in Gaza if Hamas keeps up its rocket fire, as Palestinian rescuers reported dozens of deaths from Israeli strikes on the first day of the New Year.

Syria's top diplomat said he hoped to open a "new, bright page" with Saudi Arabia upon arriving in the kingdom Wednesday, the first foreign visit for Syria's new rulers, who seized power last month.

International condemnation has poured in for the attack on a crowd of New Year's Eve revelers in New Orleans which killed at least 15 people and wounded dozens more.

At least 10 people were killed and 30 injured when a vehicle plowed into a crowd in a popular tourist district in the U.S. city of New Orleans, city authorities said Wednesday.

Iran will hold nuclear talks with France, Britain, and Germany on January 13 in Switzerland, local media reported on Wednesday, quoting a foreign ministry official.

Saudi Arabia on Wednesday launched a humanitarian air bridge to Syria, delivering food, shelter and medical supplies, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa met with senior Christian clerics on Tuesday, amid calls on the Islamist chief to guarantee minority rights after seizing power earlier this month.