al jazeera

By Faisal Aziz Khan and Nils Adler

    Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry says a strike caused a small fire at an Aramco building in Dhahran with no injuries, following a Houthi warning for civilians to evacuate Saudi oil sites it described as a “legitimate target”.

    The Saudi-led coalition strikes Houthi energy terminals and fuel reserves in Yemen, with spokesperson Turki al-Maliki saying forces took precautions to avoid “collateral damage on civilians”, while a cruise missile has been intercepted and destroyed over Al-Kharj governorate in Riyadh province.

    US President Donald Trump says Houthi rebels are stepping up attacks on Saudi Arabia’s infrastructure to drive up energy prices ahead of the US midterm elections.

    Iran and Oman are close to establishing safe commercial shipping routes in the Strait of Hormuz after reaching an understanding on a “temporary safe passage route”, Iran’s foreign ministry says.

Cairo hosts fresh talks on Palestinian unity, elections

    The leaders of Palestinian groups, including the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and Hamas, are due to meet in Cairo for talks on internal divisions, Palestinian unity and elections, sources have told Al Jazeera.

    Fatah spokesman Abdel Fattah Dawla told the Turkish news agency Anadolu that the Wednesday and Thursday meetings would focus on preparations for broader dialogue and efforts to build consensus among the various Palestinian factions.

    Last week, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas postponed next month’s presidential and legislative elections by almost one year to September 11, 2027.

    The PLO’s Executive Committee, which Abbas heads, said in a statement that conditions in occupied East Jerusalem, the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip were not conducive to holding elections, pointing out that Israel had not allowed election materials or international observers to enter Gaza.

    Mourners in Beheira, Egypt, bid farewell to 28-year-old Azza Ramzy, a Flynas flight attendant killed in a Houthi attack on the Riyadh airport.

    She was among 13 people killed in the October 10 attack, which was the deadliest on Saudi Arabia in more than a decade.

Egypt, Pakistan foreign ministers discuss regional tensions in call

    Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty has discussed regional developments with Pakistani Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar in a phone call.

    In a post on X, Egypt’s foreign ministry said they discussed ways to de-escalate regional tensions and enhance joint coordination ahead of an upcoming meeting of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation foreign ministers.

Cholera cases spike in Yemen as fighting escalates, WHO says

    Suspected cholera cases in Yemen have tripled in the past three weeks, the World Health Organization (WHO) warns, as civilians continue to escape renewed fighting and seek safety in unsanitary camps.

    Ramped-up combat, which has pushed more than 200,000 people to flee their homes, drove suspected cases from 217 in the week of September 6-12 to 647 in the week of September 27 to October 3, the WHO said in a report on Tuesday.

    Yemen had reported 8,034 suspected cases and 27 deaths this year, the WHO said, with a quarter of the suspected cases occurring in the last four weeks.

    Saudi Arabia says it intercepted missiles targeting Riyadh and Dhahran, with falling debris injuring at least four people and damaging homes in the capital.

    Meanwhile, Yemen’s Saudi-backed government says its offensive to retake Houthi-held territory is advancing.

Israeli strike on Gaza apartment kills Palestinian woman

    An Israeli strike on an apartment near the al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza has killed a Palestinian woman, according to reporting from our colleagues on the ground.

Yemen’s government appeals for urgent aid in Taiz

    The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor in Yemen’s internationally recognised government has issued an urgent appeal to international and regional organisations to intensify aid for Taiz governorate, where the humanitarian situation is deteriorating rapidly under Houthi siege, according to the Saba news agency.

    The ministry urged organisations, civil society groups and the private sector to provide food, shelter, healthcare, water and basic supplies, with particular attention to children, women, the elderly, people with disabilities and the poorest families.

    It also called for stronger coordination among aid groups, government agencies and local authorities to speed up emergency responses.

The escalation in Yemen is a turning point

By Ateq Garallah

    Yemen is witnessing a major military escalation that has once again brought the western coast and the area around the Bab al-Mandeb strait to the forefront of regional developments. Operation Yemen’s Dawn, launched by the forces loyal to the internationally recognised Yemeni government, has produced some results.

    Government forces have advanced towards the strait of Bab al-Mandeb and are now fighting against reinforced Houthi positions. Clashes continue in parts of Dhubab District and around Dhubab Airport.

    The central question now is whether these military moves can bring about a lasting change in the balance of power and whether they will widen the confrontation or open the way for a new negotiating process.

Israel’s advance towards ‘Yellow Line’ in Gaza forces displaced Palestinians into smaller spaces

By Maram Humaid

    Mahmoud Harzeen is pitching a tent about 200 metres (656 feet) from the yellow concrete blocks marking the “Yellow Line“, preparing for his sixth move.

    Each time the line inches further into Gaza, the 35-year-old packs up and moves further back, trying to keep his family away from danger. But every move offers only temporary relief.

    “Every time they move forward a little, we move back a little,” Harzeen told Al Jazeera.

    The “Yellow Line” divided Gaza’s territory between Israeli and Palestinian control as part of the October 2025 “ceasefire” agreement.

    Israeli forces withdrew behind the line, but have continued to move the demarcation deeper into Gaza. They now control about 65 percent of the territory, according to the UN, up from the 53 percent agreed upon a year ago.

    Australian Senator Mehreen Faruqi called for an urgent debate on Israel’s genocide in Gaza, accusing the government of complicity.

    The motion was voted down by the Labor government and opposition coalition.

Oil prices edge higher as traders weigh Saudi supply risks and Russian diesel

    Oil prices are continuing their upward trajectory, with Brent crude futures gaining 89 cents, or 0.8 percent, as of 00:30 GMT to reach $106.58 a barrel.

    US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude went up 80 cents, or 0.9 percent, to trade at $94.94.

    The gains came after oil settled on Tuesday, when Brent fell 0.9 percent while WTI rose 0.4 percent, as traders weighed supply risk from fighting between Yemen’s Houthis and Saudi Arabia against the prospect of increased diesel from Russia, according to the Reuters news agency.

    Brent futures closed at $105.69 a barrel on Tuesday while WTI settled at $94.14.

    The Houthis attacked an administrative building belonging to state-owned oil firm Saudi Aramco in the city of Dhahran, causing a limited fire, Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry said on Wednesday.

US lawmakers press Pentagon over civilian deaths in Iran

    A group of 77 US Congress members is “demanding answers” from the Pentagon on the protection of civilians after two deadly US strikes in Iran this year.

    On September 1, a US air strike killed five civilians, including two children, at a wedding in Kuhestak, Hormozgan province.

    In a post on X, Democratic Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari said it was “the latest in a horrifying pattern of civilian casualties” resulting from Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s “disastrous and illegal war” in Iran.

    She also highlighted a February 28 strike on a school in Minab, Hormozgan province, which killed 120 children.

How exposed is the Gulf’s internet as Iran threatens data centers

    Iran’s security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, has warned that cables, data centres and AI facilities across the region could be attacked if the US war on Iran erupts again.

    The warning comes as the capture of Yemeni territory along the Red Sea coastline last month by the Iran-backed Houthis has raised concerns over the safety of internet cables linking Europe and Asia.

    Iran hit data centres and US business interests in Bahrain and the UAE during the height of the war. Tehran said the attacks were in response to US attacks on Iranian civilian installations.

CENTCOM rejects Iranian claims of Strait of Hormuz control

    US Central Command has rejected assertions by the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy that Tehran controls the Strait of Hormuz and would sink approaching American warships.

    “IRGC’s navy commander has no navy. American forces and regional partners clearly control the Strait of Hormuz,” CENTCOM said on X.

    The military command added that US forces assisted Gulf partners in shipping more than 19 million barrels of crude oil through the strategic chokepoint on Monday.

Houthi health official says shelling and landmine kill three

    Artillery shelling has killed one person and injured two others in the al-Waqr area of Shadaa district in Yemen, according to Dr Anees Alasbahi, spokesman for the Houthi-affiliated health ministry.

    Separately, Alasbahi said two people were killed in a landmine explosion in Beit Bish near al-Rawn in Hays district.

    Earlier, he reported two deaths and two injuries in a Saudi-led attack on an oil facility in Ras Isa, Hodeidah governorate.

Two Palestinians injured by Israeli rubber-coated bullets near Ramallah

    Two Palestinians have been injured by rubber-coated bullets fired by Israeli forces in Ras Karkar, west of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, on Tuesday evening, official Palestinian news agency Wafa has reported.

    Local sources told Wafa that soldiers fired at residents attempting to cross an iron gate separating Ras Karkar’s lands from the neighbouring village of Kharbatha Bani Harith. Both were struck in the head and taken to a hospital in Ramallah for treatment.

    Yemeni government forces are encircled by the Houthis in Taiz, where blockades on road routes have worsened shortages.

    The UN warns wheat and flour could run out in less than three weeks, as fuel becomes scarce and residents struggle to feed their families.