Browsing: Region
Kuwait’s Ministry of Defense announced Thursday that an Iranian attack targeted a building belonging to a Chinese company in the north of the country, killing one worker and causing extensive material damage to the facility. The ministry’s official spokesperson, Col. Staff Saud Al Atwan, said in a press statement that the competent authorities immediately initiated the necessary procedures and responded to the incident in coordination with the relevant agencies. Al Atwan assured that the Armed Forces will continue to undertake their duties more efficiently as part of their permanent readiness and take essential measures to protect state security in lockstep with relevant authorities to safeguard the safety of citizens and residents. Source link
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia strongly condemned Iran’s continued aggression against Jordan, stressing the importance of taking serious steps to preserve the security and stability of the region.In a statement issued Thursday, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the Kingdom reiterates its solidarity with Jordan and its people in all measures taken against the Iranian attacks, which violate international law and the principles of good neighborliness. The Ministry stressed the importance of an immediate halt to the blatant Iranian attacks on Jordan and other countries in the region Source link
On a road in Gaza City’s Zeitoun district, Palestinian resident Assem Dawla loaded mattresses and bags onto a truck as concrete yellow blocks marking the edge of Israel’s expanding military zone stood amid the rubble nearby.He said it was the seventh or eighth time since the war began that he and his family had been forced to leave a shelter because of Israeli evacuation orders and the advance of what residents call the yellow line. Zeitoun is one of at least five locations across Gaza where residents and Hamas officials say Israel has expanded areas under its control in recent days by moving forward the yellow line, a military demarcation established under a US-brokered ceasefire reached in October.As men hoisted belongings onto a waiting truck, elderly relatives picked their way through debris. Continued Israeli military activity made it too dangerous to remain, Dawla said. “We are taking our belongings out and going to leave the place because the occupation (Israel) has moved the yellow line,” he said.With the October ceasefire, President Donald Trump set out a peace plan for Gaza that largely halted major fighting after two years of devastating Israeli war in Gaza.The plan called for a surge in humanitarian aid, governance by a civilian Palestinian administration, the disarmament of Hamas, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the deployment of an international force to help maintain security. But progress has stalled.Hamas has so far refused to disarm, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on May 28 that Israel intends to expand the area under its control to 70% of the enclave. Israeli forces have continued near-daily military strikes across Gaza.Residents in Deir al-Balah, Khan Younis, Gaza City’s Zeitoun, Tuffah and Shejaia neighbourhoods, as well as northern Rafah, told Reuters that Israeli forces have advanced the yellow block markers during the past 10 days, triggering new waves of displacement in areas already devastated by months of conflict.At least seven people interviewed by Reuters said residents in some affected areas received warnings via text messages or drone-mounted loudspeakers before leaving once again. The Israeli military said its forces are deployed in Gaza to protect Israel from attack and that the yellow line was being clearly marked on the ground to reduce the risk of contact between troops and civilians.“IDF’s (Israel Defence Forces) defensive posture in the area includes a security zone, a physical barrier, intelligence capabilities, technological means, and operational activity by IDF troops,” the military said.For many Gazans ordered to move, the process has become painfully familiar: gathering whatever survived the previous displacement — a few blankets, a cooking pot, a child’s schoolbag — and setting out, often after dark, for another area designated as safe by the Israeli military. Near the shattered remains of buildings in Zeitoun, Dawla’s mother, Umm Sami, limped through what was left of the family’s property, collecting whatever could still be salvaged. “Why am I leaving? They (Israeli army) became close, they put the yellow line here. The day before, they struck there, and we left.” Like most of Gaza’s population, Dawla’s family has been displaced multiple times since the war began, rebuilding temporary shelters only to be ordered to move again days or weeks later.In a statement issued on July 20, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said an Israeli displacement order in Zeitoun forced 30 families from their tents, which were subsequently destroyed. As trucks carrying the remnants of household lives rolled away and a child walked past yellow blocks protruding from the wreckage, residents faced yet another uncertain journey. “The whole war is displacement, displacement. You can’t stay anywhere without (Israel) telling you, ‘Get out of here, we want to come in,’” Dawla said. Source link
Oman has presented Iran with a plan backed by Gulf states to manage the Strait of Hormuz, including collecting voluntary fees for using it, a Gulf source and a Western diplomat told Reuters yesterday. The Omani proposals are intended to serve as a basis to end the disruption to trade through the strait caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran.President Donald Trump, who abruptly called off a two-week US bombing campaign over the weekend in his latest strategic U-turn, said there were “good talks” under way with Iran but threatened to restart strikes unless negotiations deliver. Iran denies seeking to resume talks with the United States. Washington launched its renewed bombing campaign earlier this month to break Iran’s grip on the strait, through which about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flowed before the war.Iran effectively shut the strait to ships other than its own after the United States and Israel attacked on February 28. A deal last month between the United States and Iran partially reopened it, but the agreement collapsed in early July after Iran fired on ships using a channel it does not approve. Iran has said it wants to manage the strait alongside Oman, which controls the opposite shore, and charge service fees to ships that use it. Washington wants to return to the status quo prior to the war, when ships were able to pass freely with no payments, and says charging mandatory fees would be illegal. Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Tehran had proposed to Oman that Iran managed one-way shipping through its side of the strait and Muscat managed part but not all of the opposite direction. Under the Omani proposal, Iran would not exercise sole control and fees would be voluntary, the Gulf source and Western diplomat briefed on the matter told Reuters.The system would be analogous to one in place on Asia’s Strait of Malacca, where Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore ask ships to pay voluntary contributions to fund navigation, environmental protection and search-and-rescue operations. The Western diplomat compared it to a voluntary carbon tax for flights, where anyone buying a plane ticket can choose to tick a box if they want to pay to offset their emissions.Iran’s joint military command again rejected a plan put forward by Trump for damages to vessels to be paid from frozen Iranian assets, state media reported. It said that any country or company that accepted such payments would be denied passage through the Strait of Hormuz by Iran’s armed forces. Adding to the challenges for shipping in the region, the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen opened a new front against the US and its allies on July 20, when they declared a blockade of Saudi ports on the Red Sea.Late yesterday, the Houthis said they had fired ballistic missiles at a Saudi oil tanker, which they said was forced to turn back.Trump called off his latest campaign of airstrikes after receiving advice from military commanders that the strategy had run its course. The 13 nights of renewed US bombing killed scores in Iran and destroyed bridges and tunnels across the south as well as military targets.Iran had responded with attacks on US bases in neighbouring countries that killed four service members, and strikes on civil infrastructure in Gulf states that it said were in response to US strikes on civilian targets.Iran has said it would hold fire as long as Washington does. But drone attacks were reported in Jordan, Saudi Arabia and northern Iran on Monday, and Jordan reported another drone being downed yesterday. Trump also repeated a threat to potentially target Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain, a fortified facility buried deep underground near one of Tehran’s main nuclear sites, saying: “If we don’t make a deal we’ll take it out very easily”. Source link
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi strongly condemned the continued ‘terrorist’ attacks on Saudi Arabia by Iran-aligned militias in Iraq.In a statement on Wednesday, Albudaiwi deemed these hostile acts a dangerous escalation, a flagrant violation of the Kingdom’s sovereignty, and a direct threat to its security and stability, as well as to regional peace and security.”The continuation of these terrorist assaults constitutes a direct threat to regional peace and security, undermining international efforts aimed at de-escalating tensions and consolidating security and stability,” read the statement.The Secretary General underscored that the GCC states stand as one alongside Saudi Arabia, fully supporting all measures it takes to protect its security, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. Source link
Jordanian air defence systems intercepted and destroyed five missiles fired from Iran toward the Kingdom early Wednesday, the official spokesperson of the Jordanian Armed Forces announced.In a statement, the military’s spokesperson said the missiles were detected through the Armed Forces’ surveillance and monitoring network before being intercepted and brought down in accordance with the approved rules of engagement.The spokesperson reaffirmed that the Armed Forces remain fully committed to safeguarding the Kingdom’s airspace and preserving its security and sovereignty. It will not tolerate any threat targeting the Kingdom’s security or the safety of its citizens. Source link
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia affirmed that strikes carried out by its armed forces against specific targets in Iraq on Wednesday, in coordination with the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), were conducted in exercise of its right to self-defence under international law, in accordance with Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.According to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the operation followed its statements issued on July 27 and 28 regarding the drone attacks launched by Iran-backed militias in Iraq against the Kingdom, in which it reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s determination to deter the perpetrators and its right to respond.The ministry said this aggressive course pursued by the Iran-backed terrorist militias in Iraq came at a time when the Kingdom was exerting every effort to help de-escalate tensions in the region and preserve its security and stability. It added that the militias had instead chosen an irresponsible path of escalation, violating international law and disregarding the obligations of Islamic brotherhood, including adherence to the principles of good-neighborly relations.The Kingdom further affirmed that the strikes carried out on Wednesday by the Saudi Armed Forces, in coordination with the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), against specific targets within the territory of the Republic of Iraq linked to the attacks on the Kingdom’s oil facilities were conducted in exercise of its inherent right of self-defence under international law, pursuant to Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.The Kingdom also affirmed that it does not seek escalation. However, should it be subjected to any further attacks, it will not hesitate to take all necessary measures to safeguard its sovereignty and protect its citizens and national assets. Source link
A woman walks past a destroyed building in the village of Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh in southern Lebanon on July 26, 2026. Lebanon’s army had on July 21…
Palestinian villagers in the occupied West Bank said Monday the area was coming close to breaking point after increasing incursions by Israeli settlers and violent stand-offs, such as one that left six people shot dead last week.The Israeli military made dozens of arrests and blocked roadways through the West Bank after Friday’s incident in the village of Tal, southwest of Nablus, where four Palestinians and two Israelis were killed.Early Monday, most entrances to Tal, neighbouring villages and Nablus were either partially or fully shuttered, creating long lines of residents seeking to pass the checkpoints.Friday’s shootings occurred after villagers from Tal confronted a large group of armed settlers they said tried to enter houses in the village. The Israeli military said there was a “violent confrontation” between dozens of Palestinians and Israeli civilians in which shots were fired on both sides. While Palestinians say villagers were defending themselves against the latest in a series of attacks by settlers seeking to drive them off the land. A general view of the village Tal near Nablus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, July 27, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone. REUTERS Ahmed Ramadan, 71, the father of one of the Palestinians killed on Friday, said settlers have continually harassed their home on the edge of Tal overlooking the rolling hills of the West Bank.”They say we are terrorists. We are not terrorists,” said Ramadan. He said the settler killed on Friday, Benayahu Mellet – an army reservist who was serving as security coordinator for the nearby settlement of Havat Gilad – had previously come to his home and yelled at him to leave and go to Syria or Jordan.Ramadan said he had no intention of leaving, “Even if we die, we’ll die here on our land. We’re not prepared to leave this country.”Sitting at home with his surviving sons, he said if settlers return in force the village was ready. “If they come, we’ll meet them head-on, even if they kill us,” he told Reuters.Israeli authorities initially portrayed Friday’s incident as an attack by Palestinians on hikers walking near the village, located in Area A of the West Bank, a zone under Palestinian control that Israelis are generally prohibited from entering.Video widely circulated on social media showed settlers carrying rifles and pushing residents as they approached the village. Reuters was not able to independently verify the video.Palestinians from Tal said settlers attacked them first before one of the villagers wrestled a gun from one of the settlers.The incident followed a pattern seen repeatedly around the West Bank, with large groups of settlers appearing near Palestinian communities, threatening and harassing their inhabitants, often as security forces stand by.Such shows of force have become more frequent over recent months, while ministers in Netanyahu’s government talk openly about annexing the West Bank, which Israel occupied following the 1967 Middle East war.Monday, Reuters reporters could see freshly cut tree trunks in fields at the edge of the village. Residents said that after the violence on Friday, settlers had come and cut down olive and fig trees.According to United Nations figures, 18 Palestinians have been killed in incidents linked to settler attacks so far this year, compared with 17 in the whole of 2025. The Palestinian Authority says at least 20 Palestinians have been killed by settlers since the start of the year. Since Friday, residents said there have been daily military raids on Tal, with between 60 and 80 people detained. About 30 remain in detention according to the deputy head of the village council Munther Shtayya.In the early hours Monday, residents said the military threw a man out of his house on the edge of the village. Reuters observed two soldiers standing on the roof of the man’s home.”All of the military is here in the streets,” Kamal Shtayya, 55, a resident of Tal, said.As Netanyahu’s government approaches elections in October, it has stepped up authorisation for new settlement building in a drive ministers say is intended to tighten Israeli control over the West Bank.The United Nations, Palestinians and most countries regard settlements as illegal under international law. Israel disputes this, saying the West Bank, which it captured in the 1967 war, is disputed territory, and citing biblical ties to the land.”I’m patient, we’ll be patient and patient and patient, but at the end of the day, patience runs out. It just flies away, it doesn’t work,” 72-year-old Tal farmer Ahmed Shtayya said.”Any human being defends himself,” he told Reuters.Like many Palestinian farmers, Shtayya, who grows tomatoes, figs and eggplants, has seen settlers come ever closer. He said settlers have come up to him as he has been working, telling him the land was Israeli.Just a few hundred metres up the road lies a burned-out home attacked by settlers a week ago, according to the vice head of the village council.”I’ve come to this point. If they want to continue like this, there must be an explosion, what else?” Shtayya said. …
Palestinian TerritoriesPalestinian health workers said a woman delivered a stillborn baby in an ambulance after the vehicle was allegedly delayed by Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint in the occupied West Bank yesterday. The 28-year-old woman was six months pregnant and unconscious when medics collected her from her home in the village of Qaryout, south of the city of Nablus, medic Bashar Qaryouti told AFP.“She was suffering from very heavy bleeding and her condition was extremely critical,” Qaryouti said.The woman was placed on oxygen and the ambulance set off for Rafidia hospital in Nablus, but soon found itself desperately searching for an open route, Qaryouti said. The entrance to one nearby village was closed, forcing the ambulance to take dirt tracks through olive groves before reaching the Awarta checkpoint, where a gate was shut and a long queue of vehicles had formed.Qaryouti drove to the front of the line and activated the ambulance siren. He said soldiers emerged from a nearby watchtower about 10 minutes later and ordered him to switch off the ambulance.Qaryouti said he explained that the vehicle’s medical equipment was being used to keep a patient alive. “They forced me, at gunpoint, to switch the vehicle off,” he said, adding that the soldiers confiscated the crew’s identity cards.The Israeli military did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment. As the ambulance remained stranded, the woman’s condition worsened. The nurse accompanying her was forced to deliver the baby inside the vehicle, Qaryouti said.“The baby was stillborn,” he said.After waiting for more than 30 minutes, the soldiers returned the crew’s identity cards and allowed the ambulance to continue, according to Qaryouti.When they reached hospital, “the mother was rushed into surgery to stop the bleeding”, Qaryouti said.Rafidia hospital director Fouad Nafaa said the woman had been “prevented by the Israeli army from reaching the hospital”. Her bleeding had since been brought under control, and she was now in a stable condition, he said. The Israeli military has launched an operation across the West Bank, creating several road closures throughout the territory. The operation followed a deadly clash on Friday between Israeli settlers and Palestinians in the village of Tell that left two Israelis and four Palestinians dead.Violence in the West Bank, occupied by Israel since 1967, has surged since the Gaza war began. Source link