Iraq's prime minister completed his cabinet line-up by appointing a U.S.-designated terrorist after receiving Washington's approval, in a bid to advance efforts to disarm Iran-backed groups in the country, diplomatic sources told AFP.

Crammed with beds and stretchers, the dilapidated Al Jumhuri hospital in Yemen's besieged city of Taiz is running so low on fuel and medicine that it may have to close, officials warn.

A Yemeni minister told AFP on condition of anonymity on Thursday that the country's prime minister was present at the presidential palace in Aden when the Iran-backed Houthis attacked the compound with missiles, though he was not hurt.

Mansour Abbas has done nearly everything Israel asks of its Palestinian citizens.

The leader of a small Arab political party condemned Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack. He rarely speaks about the war in Gaza or Israel's occupation of the West Bank, instead focusing on local issues like crime. He broke a taboo in 2021 by bringing an Arab party into an Israeli government, in which he served as a loyal partner. This time around, the second-ranked member of his party list is a mainstream Jewish candidate.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian on Friday urged countries to condemn what he called "ecocide" in the Middle East caused by "wars of aggression".

Yemen's Houthis on Thursday fired missiles at the presidential palace in Aden, which also serves as the headquarters of the internationally recognized government, security sources told AFP, while a journalist saw smoke rising from the site.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that he had previously spoken with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa about violence towards the Druze community, in his first acknowledgement of direct contact.

A Saudi foreign ministry official on Thursday said the country reached out to Yemen's Houthis in recent weeks as fighting escalates between the two sides, but the group refused to meet in Oman.

A Saudi foreign ministry official on Thursday accused Iran of encouraging the Houthis in their ongoing fight with the kingdom, adding that Tehran continues to arm and train the group.

Israeli opposition politician Gadi Eisenkot, Prime Miniter Benjamin Netanyahu's main rival in upcoming elections, vowed Thursday to defeat Hamas in Gaza if he becomes prime minister following the October 27 vote.