Military source says 58 people killed in Iran-backed Houthi attacks on Yemen government forces
Israel refuses to withdraw from more south Lebanon areas at talks
Israel refused in talks to withdraw from more areas of south Lebanon unless the Lebanese army had full control of an initial two "pilot zones", a Lebanese presidential source told AFP.
The seventh round of negotiations between Lebanon and Israel was held in Rome under US auspices aimed at ending hostilities between Israel and militant group Hezbollah that have been a violent second front of the Middle East war.
The Lebanese source told AFP, on condition of anonymity, that the talks had "not yielded definitive results regarding the pilot zones".
While the outlook from Beirut was dim, a US State Department spokesperson told AFP that the talks were "productive".
Erdogan to visit Saudi Arabia Friday
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Saudi Arabia Friday for talks with Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister Shebaz Sharif, Erdogan's office announced.
Pakistan has been acting as a mediator to try to end the US-Iran war that has drawn in several Gulf countries and paralysed maritime traffic through the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
Oman responds to stranded vessel off Dhofar, state media says
Oman's transport ministry and environment authority said it was responding to an incident involving the CAROLINE BEZENGI vessel, which is stranded near the Hallaniyat Islands off the southern governorate of Dhofar, to limit any potential environmental impact, Omani state media reported.
Explosion in Damascus suburb kills at least 1 person, wounds several others
An explosion in a suburb of the Syrian capital Damascus killed at least one person and wounded several others, according to Syrian state media and an Associated Press journalist at the scene.
Syrian state television cited an unnamed security official as saying the explosion in Jaramana was caused by an explosive device planted in a minivan taxi. Syria's Health Ministry said at least seven people were wounded. An AP journalist at the scene of the attack saw one body pulled from the wreckage.
Residents and rescue workers rushed to the scene. Witnesses told the AP that there were passengers inside the vehicle that exploded, and that the blast rattled the busy commercial street.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
Israeli settlers attack West Bank Palestinian community, burn homes
Israeli settlers attacked a small Palestinian community in the occupied West Bank, injuring people, destroying homes and smashing their power source, the military and residents said, in the latest in a spate of violent confrontations.
AFP journalists in remote Khirbet al-Tuba saw buildings blackened by fire and smoke, the interiors of three homes completely burned and graffiti in Hebrew spray-painted on remaining structures.
The dozen solar panels the isolated southern community relies on for power had also been smashed to render them unusable.
The Israeli military said it "strongly condemned" the raid and that it had responded after "homes being set on fire and Palestinians being attacked in the area by Israeli civilians" late Wednesday.
Yemeni government says will respond to Houthi attacks 'at appropriate time'
Yemeni authorities said they would retaliate to several Houthi rebel attacks earlier in the day, which medical sources said killed 38 government troops in the deadliest toll since a 2022 truce between both sides.
The defence ministry of Yemen's internationally recognised government said in a statement that its armed forces would respond to the missile and drone attacks "at the appropriate place and time".
Trump says he is "extremely happy" with Pentagon chief Hegseth
US President Donald Trump said he was very happy with the work Pete Hegseth was doing at the Pentagon, dismissing a report that the two clashed over concerns about missile depletion from the Iran war.
"I am extremely happy with the job that Pete Hegseth is doing," Trump posted on social media.
Iranian parliamentary committee reviews draft bill to bar US, Israeli ships from Hormuz, Fars news agency says
An Iranian parliamentary committee is reviewing a preliminary bill that would bar US, Israeli and other "hostile" vessels from transiting the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's semi-official Fars news agency reported, citing a lawmaker.
The draft bill would impose fines of up to 20 percent of a ship's cargo value for violations of the proposed restrictions.
The lawmaker said the legislation was still under expert review and that parliament had invited specialists to submit recommendations before the draft is finalised.
EU's Kallas welcomes announcement of Gaza agreement
The European Union welcomes the announcement of an agreement to permanently decommission weapons from Hamas and other non-state armed groups and withdraw Israeli forces from Gaza, Kaja Kallas, the EU's top diplomat, said.
"We call on all parties to approve and implement the agreement without delay," Kallas said in a statement. US President Donald Trump announced a "major milestone" towards implementing the Gaza peace plan announced in October, saying Hamas would disarm and Israel would withdraw in phases.
But residents of Gaza have said the announcement is out of touch with their reality.
'She was haemorrhaging': In the West Bank, the checkpoint ordeal for pregnant women
Roads blocked and checkpoints closed: after every outbreak of violence, Israel seals off the West Bank. Like after events in Nablus, where two Israeli settlers and four Palestinians died on July 24.
FRANCE 24's correspondent Claire Duhamel travelled with a paramedic who regularly transports pregnant women to hospital.
Proposed Hormuz passage deal not feasible for shipping industry, sources say
A proposed deal between Iran and Oman that would give Tehran control over ships entering the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz is not easily workable due to US sanctions and restrictive insurance clauses on any payments, four industry sources said.
Under the latest proposal, Tehran would be able to intervene if necessary with any inbound traffic, while outbound traffic would follow a route between Iran and Oman, with exit clearance granted through Oman after notifying Iran, a senior Iranian source told Reuters this week.
Houthis say attacks on Yemen forces response to 'Saudi military buildup'
Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis said they had attacked government positions in response to an alleged military buildup by neighbouring Saudi Arabia, while medical sources said at least 38 Yemeni troops were killed.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree accused the kingdom of a "large Saudi military buildup" to prepare for attacks. "Therefore, our armed forces conducted a large-scale and precise military operation targeting Saudi enemy troop concentrations," he added, referring to the Saudi-backed government's forces.
Ugandan lawmakers have approved the government’s request to deploy troops to Gaza under an international force
Ugandan authorities sought and won parliamentary approval to deploy troops to Gaza as part of an international force.
The successful motion, brought by the defense minister, is Uganda’s first public indication of its willingness to join the International Stabilization Force for Gaza. Morocco has also pledged troops for the mission.
The force, proposed by US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace in February, would be led by an American general, Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers, who said in May that the 20,000-strong force would ensure “future prosperity and enduring peace” after the devastating Israel-Hamas war.
At least 38 Yemeni troops killed in Houthi attacks, medical sources say
Houthi missile and drone attacks in Yemen killed at least 38 government troops, two medical sources told AFP, in one of the deadliest attacks between the two sides in years.
A military official told AFP that the Houthi attacks targeted camps in central Yemen and near the Saudi border.
Lebanese journalist deliberately targeted by Israeli attack, probe reveals
Three rights groups have released findings of a probe into the Israeli attack which killed Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil in April.
The investigation by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and The Legal Agenda shows Israel deliberately targeted the 42-year-old and her camerawoman, who was wounded in the attack.
According to the UN human rights office, deliberate attacks on civilians is considered a war crime.
FRANCE 24's correspondent in Israel, Noga Tarnopolsky has more.
UN experts urge Iran to end 'targeting' of minorities
UN rights experts urged Iran to end what they called the escalating arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, torture and arbitrary executions of ethnic minorities.
The Kurdish and Baluch minorities are particularly affected, they said in a statement.
"Iran's ethnic minorities must be able to live in safety and dignity, free from discrimination," the experts said.
In late December, a protest movement initially sparked by the high cost of living rapidly evolved into widespread anti-government demonstrations.
The UN experts said that since the protests began, the Iranian authorities had reportedly detained thousands of individuals.
Kuwait orders Iranian school shut
Authorities in Kuwait ordered the closure of a local Iranian school, a source at the education ministry told AFP, after the country came under repeated Iranian attack during the Middle East war.
The ministry source did not specify the reason for shutting the country's only Iranian school, though similar measures were taken in the UAE at the start of the war against schools and a hospital that authorities deemed to be linked to the Iranian government.
Gulf states have borne the brunt of Tehran's attacks during the conflict, with Kuwait and Bahrain hit especially hard in recent weeks after a truce between the US and Iran broke down.
- Tanker reports explosions in Hormuz
- Two soldiers killed in Lebanon in the first Israeli deaths since June truce with Hezbollah
- Lebanon state media reports new Israeli strikes in south
- Houthi rebel attacks kill at least 30 Yemeni government forces, officials say
- Yemeni government says will respond to Houthi attacks 'at appropriate time'
Saudi, Egypt, UAE, Turkey, others accuse Israel of ongoing violations in Gaza
A joint statement by foreign ministers of several regional countries strongly condemned "ongoing Israeli violations" in Gaza.
Yesterday's key developments:
- Iran said Wednesday it is in the "final stage" of drafting an agreement with Oman over the Strait of Hormuz , and US President Donald Trump has said a deal could be announced this week.
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US Vice President JD Vance acknowledged Wednesday that it can seem like the US is not making progress in Iran, describing the effort to end the war as "messy" and that "it’s going to take some time".
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The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed Wednesday they had fired ballistic missiles toward a Saudi oil tanker on the Red Sea off the Saudi port of Yanbu, without providing evidence. There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia.
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The shaky ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah grew more volatile Wednesday, as the Israeli military issued an evacuation warning to residents of the southern Lebanese village of Mansouri, the first such warning in weeks. Later, the Israeli military said it had begun conducting "precise strikes" in southern Lebanon in response to what it described as "a blatant violation of the ceasefire" that had largely held since June 20.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP, Reuters)
