Al Jazeera

By Heba Habib, Mariem Bah, Edna Mohamed and Hala Al Shami

    Yemeni government forces are trying to prevent Houthi advances on several fronts, including the strategic Kahbub mountains near Bab al-Mandeb and Taiz, with Saudi Arabia providing support with air strikes in areas around the city.

    President Donald Trump has told reporters that the US is “hopefully toward the end” of its war on Iran and notes that he has spoken with Iranians “directly”.

    UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urges de-escalation and diplomacy in the Middle East as fighting intensifies in Yemen and between the Houthi group and Saudi Arabia.

    Iran’s national security chief Mohsen Rezaei says the US must take practical steps to earn Tehran’s confidence, stressing that the country harbours zero trust in Washington.

    Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir says Israeli forces will continue operating deep inside Lebanon to counter threats and push Hezbollah back, despite an April ceasefire.

Iran expels Swedish diplomat in tit-for-tat move

    Iran has expelled a Swedish diplomat the day after Sweden ordered an Iranian embassy official to leave the country and summoned Iran’s ambassador.

    “We condemn Sweden’s decision to prevent one of our diplomats from continuing his duties at our embassy in Stockholm.

    “We have informed the Swedish ambassador that one of the Swedish diplomats must leave Iran within 48 hours,” said Iran’s Foreign Ministry.

UN fact-finding mission says US likely committed war crimes in Iran

    Human rights experts commissioned by the UN have said that they have found “reasonable grounds” to believe the United States was behind two military strikes on a school and sports facility in Iran in February and that the attacks constituted war ⁠crimes.

    The attacks included the February 28 strike on an elementary school in the southern city of Minab.

    The UN-backed panel identified the attacks as a Tomahawk missile strike on a “clearly identifiable” school, and a separate air strike in which precision strike missiles scattered tungsten pellets over a “clearly identifiable sports complex and residential area” in the southern city of Lamerd.

    “Following the United States and Israeli attacks on 28 February, the mission found reasonable grounds to believe the United States committed the war crime of launching indiscriminate attacks resulting in the loss of life or injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects,” the fact-finding mission said in a statement.

Turkiye’s Defence Ministry condemns Houthi drone attack on Mecca

    Turkiye’s Defence Ministry has condemned a Houthi drone attack on Mecca and is calling for an end to actions threatening regional stability.

    The ministry said continued Houthi threats in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb were harming regional security, international maritime trade and global stability.

    The Houthis have denied carrying out the attack.

Gaza Health Ministry reports 5 people killed and 28 wounded in past 24 hours

    In its daily statistical report, the Gaza Health Ministry said five Palestinians were killed and 28 wounded in the past 24 hours, including three new deaths and two people who succumbed to their wounds.

    Since a ceasefire took effect on October 11, 2025, the ministry said 1,386 Palestinians have been killed and 4,784 wounded, with 831 bodies retrieved from under the rubble.

    The ministry added that the collapse of the al-Saada building had left 21 dead and injured more than 14 others, with several people still missing, bringing the total death toll from building collapses to 61.

Houthis move to capture strategic Kahbub mountains

By Maha Ali

Reporting from Taiz, Yemen

    The most prominent headline here in Yemen remains, up to this moment, the strategic Kahbub mountains, a pivotal and important front given that the strategic Kahbub range overlooks the Bab al-Mandeb strait, and the direct control that this large mountain chain provides over the strait and the strategic island of Mayyun.

    The joint government forces there announced they had repelled Houthi attack attempts on this front, in which the Houthis, according to military sources, used various types of weapons and deployed many combat formations in an attempt to push further into the Kahbub mountains.

    The government brigades announced the deaths of a number of Houthi fighters, as well as injuries to others, in strikes targeting their equipment, personnel and gatherings around the front. They also said they had shot down a drone flying over the airspace of the mountains.

    This coincided with their repelling of a Houthi infiltration attempt; National Shield forces said they had managed to repel and foil it on the al-Mudaraba front, with support from the Southern Giants Brigades, and said they had captured two Houthi fighters and wounded others.

French, Lebanese presidents discuss efforts to end ‘Israeli aggressions’ in Lebanon

    Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron have discussed efforts to “put an end to Israeli aggressions” in Lebanon, the Lebanese presidency announced in a statement on X.

    Meeting in the Elysee Palace in Paris, before their meeting to support army and security forces in Lebanon, the two leaders agreed to continue communications and advance cooperation in various fields, particularly economically and for the “resumption of oil and gas exploration in Lebanon”, the statement said.

Iran believes time favours them in war with the US

    Former Iranian diplomat and analyst, Abbas Khameyar, said Tehran believes time favours Iran in its standoff with Washington over sanctions, the maritime blockade and pressure to return to negotiations, even as the US maintains military and economic pressure.

    “I believe the Iranians are relying on the factor of time more than America is and that is what we are seeing in practice,” Khameyar told Al Jazeera.

    “Pressure within the United States, persistently high energy prices, and American domestic and global public opposition to the war, all of this benefits Iran.”

    He argued that Iran has so far absorbed the economic toll through deliberate state planning, saying the government has worked “to support goods and ensure the availability of strategic food items and even non-essential goods,” despite inflation and strain on ordinary citizens.

    Khameyar stressed that Iran is pursuing diplomacy and military preparedness in parallel, saying “we should not forget the military track and military preparedness to confront any American attack”.

Israeli forces arrest former Al Jazeera correspondent in Ramallah

    Israeli military forces have arrested a former correspondent for Al Jazeera Mubasher after raiding his home in Ramallah, the Palestinian news agency Wafa has reported.

    Alaa Hassan Al-Rimawi was taken from his home at dawn, his family said. Israeli forces have not said why.

    The detention comes less than a year after Al-Rimawi was released following two years in prison. He was also arrested in April 2021, before Israeli forces released him after a month on hunger strike.

    In the last few weeks, Al-Rimawi had launched a community initiative called “Giving Up for God’s Sake” with the aim of forgiving the debts of those facing financial issues in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.

    The initiative expanded across social media platforms, with the amount of debt waived reaching approximately 15 million shekels ($4.93m).

Saudis may have to ‘swallow this bitter pill and go and talk with the Iranians’

    The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are changing the strategic balance of power in the Gulf conflict, argues Cyrus Schayegh, professor of International History and Politics at the Geneva Graduate Institute.

    “They are the two most powerful Gulf countries. So, what they do matters,” Schayegh told Al Jazeera.

    He explained that the UAE announced the stopping of trade with Iran a couple of weeks ago, yet they shared “very warm relations” with the Iranian president during the BRICS meeting recently.

    “They understand that they need to keep reaching out to Iran. So, they play both positions.”

    With regard to Saudi Arabia, Schayegh said that they are “trapped” as the US is not directly helping them during their conflict with the Houthis but the US is simultaneously “putting pressure on them to not agree to go down this negotiation route with Iran and Oman and the other Gulf countries”.

    “This is a huge problem for the Saudis and at some point they may decide that they simply have to, you know, distance themselves a bit more from the United States and really just swallow this bitter pill and go and talk with the Iranians,” Schayegh concluded.

Yemeni government forces battling Houthis in strategic Kahbub mountains, near Bab al-Mandeb

    Yemeni government forces and the Houthis are still fighting on several fronts, including in the strategically important Kahbub mountains near Bab al-Mandeb.

    Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Taiz, Maha Ali, reported that the government’s “Homeland Shield” forces, with support from the “Giants Brigades”, say they have thwarted a Houthi attempt to infiltrate the area and carry out a large-scale attack. They reportedly damaged equipment, captured two Houthi members and shot down a Houthi drone.

Israeli settlers raid Hebron’s Ibrahimi Mosque

    Israeli settlers have stormed the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, our colleagues on the ground reported.

    Israeli forces have closed the mosque to Palestinians for a second day and imposed a security cordon around it.

Pakistan FM, IAEA chief voice support for Iran-US memorandum of understanding

    Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has held a telephone call with Rafael Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, to discuss the evolving security situation in the Middle East, a spokesperson for Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry has said.

    The two officials agreed on Tuesday that the implementation of the memorandum of understanding reached between Iran and the United States remained the most effective path to reducing regional tensions, according to a statement released on Thursday.

    Grossi offered the IAEA’s technical support to help implement the agreement if needed, the statement said.

Israeli troops surround al-Ein camp in west Nablus following beatings

    We have more on the attack we reported earlier, with Israeli military forces brutally beating Palestinians at the al-Ein camp in west Nablus.

    Medical sources told the Palestinian news agency Wafa that they treated the injuries of two Palestinians aged 60 and 31, after they were detained during field investigations in the camp.

    Israeli military vehicles stormed the camp at dawn, before searching and seizing several homes and establishing military checkpoints, Wafa said.

    The soldiers have closed the street surrounding the camp, trapping citizens and preventing others from entering.

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Israeli drones flying at low altitude over Beirut and southern suburb of Dahiyeh

    Israeli drones are flying at low altitude over Beirut and the capital’s southern Dahiyeh suburb, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency has reported.

Death is present throughout the Gaza Strip

By Nour Khaled

Reporting from Gaza, Palestine

    There is no place free from Israeli bombardment. All remaining areas of the Gaza Strip outside Israeli control are exposed to Israeli violations and incursions at any moment. Israeli forces do not take into consideration the presence of civilians, the crowding of residents or the fact that hundreds of thousands of people are living in the very narrow area of al-Mawasi in Khan Younis, and they have intensified their strikes on that area.

    Yesterday, a number of flares were fired over the northeastern area of Gaza City.

    Quadcopters and reconnaissance aircraft also flew continuously late at night, their sound reverberating across the Strip to disturb residents and signal an ongoing war zone. However, this is a situation residents of the Gaza Strip have become accustomed to because of continuing Israeli violations and incursions.

    Yesterday, five people were killed as a result of Israeli strikes. Three were killed in different areas, while two died of injuries sustained in an earlier Israeli bombardment. The deaths were recorded in the Tuffah neighbourhood, the al-Mawasi area, and central Gaza.

    This is the pattern that Israeli forces continue: more violations and more incursions. Death is present throughout the Gaza Strip.

Yemeni government forces attempting to stop Houthi advancements in Taiz

By Yousef Mawry

Reporting from Sanaa

    Many believe that government counteroffensives are delaying the Ansar Allah Houthis’ advances, but experts don’t think this is enough to prevent the Yemeni group from eventually taking over the city if there is no major counteroffensive from the internationally recognised Yemeni government. To do that, the government would need help from Saudi Arabia.

    Saudi Arabia has been helping with the air attacks in western Taiz, where the Houthis have been trying to gain more land. We have reports that Saudi air raids hit telecommunication towers, according to the Houthis. We also have reports that a Saudi air raid killed one civilian in Taiz and injured another.

    The fighting is mostly taking place in Kahbub in Taiz. It is a strategic village and mountainous area, with a military advantage as it overlooks the entire vicinity where the Houthis are currently reinforcing.

    In this part of the country, it’s all about gaining the strategic advantage, which for both sides is about controlling the mountains. Whoever controls the mountains essentially controls the whole area, especially near Bab al-Mandeb, where there are heavy clashes being reported. For the most part, the front lines are being reinforced for the Yemeni government with the Giants Brigades, the vanguards of the government. So far, they have been able to prevent the Houthis from gaining deeper territory near the city of Taiz, but if the conflict persists in this style of fighting, many experts believe it favours the Houthis.

Building collapse in Gaza is not an isolated incident

By Nour Khaled

Reporting from Gaza, Palestine

    The civil defence announced yesterday that it had concluded an incident involving the al-Saada building.

    However, this building is not an isolated case. Residents have begun to feel extreme danger and fear because of sudden collapses and cracking in the buildings where they are living, as they are unable to access tents because of the severe lack of space in the Gaza Strip.

    Only 30 percent of the Strip’s area remains after the Israeli occupation took control of 70 percent. This remaining 30 percent is not fully prepared for erecting tents, and the land is not equipped to receive perhaps more than a million displaced people who have fled from different parts of the Strip, including areas where Israeli forces control the land. They have therefore been forced to live in homes at risk of collapse and liable to fall down at any moment.

    Even the residents of the Karam building, or the survivors from that building, said they had occasionally heard cracking, but they had nowhere else to go and nowhere safer to live than this building.

    Last winter, several buildings collapsed on residents. The Ministry of Health announced 54 deaths as a result of collapses and structural damage to unsafe homes.

What’s been happening in the occupied West bank

    Here are the latest developments:

    Israeli settlers have set fire to Palestinian citizens’ properties and land in the village of Burqa, east of Ramallah, local sources have told Al Jazeera.

    Israeli forces have stormed the towns of Saida and Allar, north of Tulkarem, according to our colleagues on the ground.

    The Israeli army has detained journalist Alaa al-Rimawi from his home in el-Bireh.

    Israeli forces have begun demolishing residential and agricultural facilities in the Wa’er al-Bayek area of Anata town in the Jerusalem district, according to the Jerusalem Governorate.

Israel weaponises AI for West Bank demolitions

By Mohammad Mansour

    As the world wrestles with the ethical implications of artificial intelligence and the dangers of removing humans from life-altering decisions, Israel has pressed ahead with deploying AI as part of its military arsenal.

    In Gaza, AI systems have been used to determine potential bomb targets, contributing to the scale of the killing of Palestinians there as recently documented in the award-winning documentary NAZA.

    Israel has not only used AI in its genocidal war on Gaza but also in the occupied West Bank, where it has systematically been weaponised to survey Palestinian land and expedite forced displacement, according to researchers and rights activists.

    The Turkish media outlet PalDigital, citing rights activists and Israeli media reports, highlighted how Israel uses AI tools – and specifically a product called ImiSight developed by the Israeli weapons manufacturer Rafael – to monitor vast swathes of land and observe changes that can then be used as justifications for demolitions.

    The tool was initially used by Israel in the Naqab desert, targeting Bedouin Palestinian citizens of Israel, PalDigital reported in July. Many Bedouins live in villages in Israel not recognised by the government, with authorities issuing few building permits. Activists say the actions are discriminatory and aim to force the Bedouin community out to create Jewish settlements.

Trump claims of direct talks dismissed by former Iranian diplomat

    Former Iranian diplomat Abbas Khameyar has dismissed recent statements by US President Donald Trump claiming Iran is pushing for direct talks.

    “I don’t think there has been any additional effort beyond what was already under way in recent weeks,” he told Al Jazeera.

    There is a US narrative, he stated, “with tweets and statements by President Trump claiming that the Iranians are calling, pleading and asking for a meeting. But nobody believes this, and matters have not unfolded in that way.”

    He added that Iran’s diplomatic activity has not moved beyond the framework already in place in recent weeks, centred on securing enforcement of the existing Memorandum of Understanding rather than opening new negotiations.

    Khameyar said Tehran continues to insist on international guarantees before any agreement can be trusted, but cast doubt on the mediators currently available. “None of those mediators can provide such a guarantee – not the Pakistanis, Qataris or Omanis,” he said.

    He added that Trump’s public messaging is aimed largely at a domestic audience, saying many of the president’s statements and tweets “are intended to manage the energy market and appeal to the American voter, whom President Trump ultimately wants to win over”.