Blasts rock Riyadh as Houthis vow to continue striking Saudi airports, oil facilities

Gaza officials say Israeli strikes kill four

Palestinian officials said Israeli strikes killed four people in Gaza, days after the anniversary of the declaration of a US-mediated ceasefire.

Two young men died when Israeli forces struck a vehicle near Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, civil defence spokesman Mahmoud Bassal and Nasser Hospital said.

Two other people, including a woman, were killed when an Israeli aircraft struck an apartment building in Gaza City, according to Bassal and Al-Shifa hospital.

US says it destroyed Iranian-affiliated dhow last week

⁠The ​US military ​said it destroyed an Iranian-affiliated ​dhow ‌last ⁠week that it ‌alleged was conducting surveillance ⁠and targeting US Navy ships ​in the ‌Gulf of Oman.

"Crew members ‌were safely removed ​prior to destruction of the dhow. Repatriation ​efforts are ​ongoing," the ​US Central Command posted ​on X, saying the incident took place ⁠on October 6.

Israel army chief says reinforcing troops on all fronts

Israel's army chief said that the military was reinforcing troop levels "across all fronts", citing an increased risk of escalation as the country heads into elections this later month.

On a visit to the occupied West Bank, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said the potential for incidents on Israel's borders had grown because of the election period, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu facing a tight race to stay in power in the October 27 poll.

"In light of the increased number of alerts across all fronts and the sensitivity of this period, the potential for escalation has grown," he said, according to an Israeli military statement.

Saudi Arabia FM condemns Colombia opening embassy in Jerusalem

Saudi offers alternative travel routes for investment conference

Saudi Arabia plans to move ahead with a major investment conference in Riyadh despite Houthi attacks on the kingdom, offering on-site and virtual attendance as well as alternative air and land travel routes, diplomatic sources told AFP.

Riyadh usually hosts a packed calendar of events, but it has recently seen escalating military tensions with the Iran-backed Yemeni group, which has intensified attacks on the kingdom's airports and oil facilities.

Saudi Arabia's Future Investment Initiative (FII) Institute hosts an annual forum dubbed "Davos in the desert", which usually draws foreign leaders and business titans, and this year it is scheduled to be held in Riyadh from October 26 to 29.

Yemen's Houthis say targeted Riyadh airport with ballistic missile

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis said that they targeted Riyadh's international airport with a ballistic missile, hours after the Saudi-led coalition reported an interception of one fired towards the capital.

"The Yemeni Armed Forces ... were able to target King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi enemy's capital, Riyadh, with a ballistic missile, and the hit was accurate," Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree posted on X.

France's Macron to visit Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain and Qatar in October

French ​President Emmanuel Macron ​will travel to Kuwait, the United ​Arab ‌Emirates, ⁠Bahrain and Qatar ‌to meet the ⁠leaders of these countries from ​October 19 to ‌October 21, his office ‌said.

He plans to discuss the situation in ​the Strait ​of ​Hormuz and its impact ​on energy prices, the statement said.

'Growing ambitions': Houthis' quest to be recognised as Yemen's 'legitimate' leaders

What is the strategic logic behind the Houthis’ increasingly high-risk confrontation with Saudi Arabia?

“Their experience in the past is that threats pay,” explains Elizabeth Kendall, Middle East specialist and President of Girton College, University of Cambridge:

Attacks in Strait of Hormuz reach highest level since start of war, security data shows

At least ten vessels have been attacked in or near the Strait of Hormuz since Sunday, a high since war broke out between the United States, Israel and Iran, security data showed Wednesday.

Four vessels were struck on Tuesday and six on Sunday – the highest number of attacks in a single day since the start of the conflict – according to data from security firm Vanguard, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the British maritime agency UKMTO. 

Two seafarers have been reported missing and a container ship reportedly sank as a result of recent attacks, according to the maritime sources.

Dry bulk vessel sinks near Hormuz, second ship loss reported in 24 hours, data shows

The Antigua ​and Barbuda-flagged Cape ​Dao sank close to the Strait ​of ‌Hormuz after ⁠being struck by ‌a projectile on September ⁠23, data from UN shipping agency ​the International ‌Maritime Organization showed.

The loss was ‌reported less than ​24 hours after the sinking of the Singapore ​flagged GFS ​Pride, which ​was struck by ​a projectile in a separate incident, maritime security sources said earlier.

Israel ex-security chief sues Netanyahu for October 7 defamation

The former head of Israel's Shin Bet domestic security agency sued Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for defamation weeks before elections in a row over responsibility for Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack.

Netanyahu, who polls show in a tight race to stay in power in the October 27 election, has been hammered by the opposition for failing to prevent the attack, the deadliest day in Israeli history.

Netanyahu, who has cast himself as a guarantor of Israel's security over his decades-long career, has insisted that he could have stopped the attack had the Shin Bet's then director, Ronen Bar, or military leaders called to wake him up the day of the early-morning attack.

In the 134-page court document, Bar accused Netanyahu of "lying to cover himself" and said it was slanderous to accuse him of "criminal failures" over the attack.

Houthis say targeted Saudi oil giant Aramco, vow more attacks

Yemen's Houthis said they had targeted facilities belonging to Saudi Aramco, after Saudi officials reported a strike on a building in an area housing the energy giant's operations centre.

Powerful explosions meanwhile rattled the Saudi capital, as the coalition fighting the Houthis said it had intercepted a missile fired by the Iran-backed group towards Riyadh.

In pictures: Israel readies for high-stakes elections in shadow of Mideast war

Israelis will head to the polls on October 27 in parliamentary elections widely seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his hard-right government after nearly three years of war in Gaza, Iran and Lebanon.

Ballot boxes being prepared at a logistics warehouse near Shoham, on 14 October 2026. Credit: Ohad Zwigenberg, AP

A huge poster of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unfurled on a building wall in Jerusalem, on October 14, 2026. Credit: Ohad Zwigenberg, AP

Saudi Arabia postpones exhibition tennis tournament after Houthi attacks

The exhibition Six Kings Slam tennis tournament has been postponed for logistical reasons, the chairman of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority has said. 

"The Six Kings Slam tournament has been postponed due to logistical reasons and will now take place on December 27," wrote Turki Alalshikh on X, sharing a statement from the Riyadh Season entertainment programme.

The announcement comes shortly after Saudi Arabia's football league said it was postponing three matches due to the security situation.

Sally Rooney books cannot be sold in UK amid Palestine Action ban

Irish author Sally Rooney can no longer sell her books in the UK because of her support for the activist group Palestine Action, proscribed by London, her publisher Faber has said.

"Current legislation in the UK has led to circumstances where Faber cannot pass on UK earnings to Sally Rooney for her work ... As such, and in full agreement with Sally, we have taken the decision that we can no longer supply her works in the UK in any format," Faber said in a statement on its website.

Copies of Irish author Sally Rooney's newly published book 'Intermezzo', are pictured in a book shop in London on September 24, 2024.

In Yemen's Taiz, plight of civilians worsens as Houthis tighten noose

With their city encircled by Houthi fighters, residents of Taiz say they face intensifying bombardment and dwindling supplies as the Iran-aligned group tightens its grip on surrounding areas.

Taiz, Yemen's third-largest city, has emerged as a major theatre of the conflict between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed government, after their war was reignited last month by the US-Iran confrontation in the Gulf.

The Houthis cut off a main road from Taiz to Aden last week, leaving government forces encircled.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said the situation in Taiz had significantly deteriorated in recent days, and that people, basic supplies and humanitarian goods could not enter the city, driving up prices.

Striking Iran ahead of elections 'not convenient' for Israel, Netanyahu says

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he is not in favour of a preemptive strike against Iran before Israel's October 27 election, while also warning Tehran and its proxies against striking Israel.

"It is not convenient for us, it's no good," Netanyahu said in an interview on Israel's Army Radio, when asked about the possibility of a preemptive strike and allegations by his political rivals that he was seeking a military confrontation ahead of the election.

"Even if Iran fires missiles at us they will blame me," Netanyahu said, adding that Israel would respond forcefully if attacked.

Saudi football league postpones matches over Houthi attacks

 The Saudi Arabian football league (SPL) has postponed three fixtures, including one involving Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr, following the dramatic escalation in the country's war with the Houthis.



The matchweek nine fixtures have been pushed back in the calendar for "logistical considerations, taking into account the mandatory minimum rest period between matches", according to a statement published on the SPL's website.

The meeting between league leaders Al Hilal and Al Riyadh and the match between Al Ittihad and Al Shabab have been postponed to December 19, while the clash between Al Ahli and Ronaldo's Al Nassr has been rescheduled for March 6, 2027.

Two Singapore-flagged vessels struck in Hormuz Strait, one sinks

Two Singapore-registered container vessels were struck by unknown projectiles while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, with ‌one vessel sinking ⁠after catching fire and the other sustaining hull ‌damage, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has said.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards earlier said a ship had caught fire and sunk in the strait because of a mine, while British security firm Vanguard also reported a sinking.

"A container ship attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz using an unauthorised and dangerous shipping lane struck a mine that exploded," said the navy of the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological arm of Iran's military.

Images released by the Guards show a plume of black smoke rising from a ship, while dozens of containers that have fallen into the sea float on the water.

The Guards said the ship was carrying more than 2,500 containers.

Ex-Shin Bet chief sues Netanyahu for 'blood libel' over October 7 warnings

Israel's former internal security chief Ronen Bar has filed a libel suit against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, says FRANCE 24’s Jerusalem correspondent Noga Tarnopolsky.

The suit was filed over an X post published by the Israeli PM on September 28 accusing Bar of concealing intelligence information received before Hamas' attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

According to Israeli daily Haaretz, it details at least 20 warnings on Gaza's security situation and provides evidence the service did share intel with Netanyahu's office hours before the attack.