Middle East
Latest stories
Israeli 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 Israel 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.

W140 Full Story
US considers hitting Iran with 'Mother of All Bombs'

The United States is considering using its biggest non-nuclear bomb against Iran if President Donald Trump should decide to renew combat in the war that has hit a deadlock, CNN reported Thursday.

The military is planning for the potential use of the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) bomb -- better known by its nickname, the "Mother Of All Bombs" -- to target Iranian energy infrastructure and nuclear sites, according to the news outlet, which quoted officials familiar with the matter.

W140 Full Story
Houthis say targeted Saudi oil giant Aramco, airport, refinery

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis said on Wednesday they had targeted facilities belonging to Saudi oil giant Aramco as well as Riyadh airport, as they vowed to conduct more attacks.

"The Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a high-quality military operation targeting Aramco in Dhahran, in the Eastern Province, King Khalid International Airport, and the Aramco refinery in Riyadh. This was carried out using a large number of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones," military spokesperson Yahya Saree said, adding "operations toward Saudi depths will continue in the coming days, targeting Saudi enemy airports and oil facilities".

W140 Full Story
Colombia opens embassy to Israel in Jerusalem

Colombia on Wednesday officially opened its embassy in Jerusalem, joining a small but growing list of countries to do so while most other embassies to Israel remain in Tel Aviv.

"This is an important date for the State of Israel. It's also an important date for the city of Jerusalem," Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said during a ceremony while signing the embassy's guest book.

W140 Full Story
Saudi coalition says intercepted Houthi missile fired towards Riyadh

Loud explosions were heard in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Wednesday, AFP journalists in the city reported, as Yemen's Houthis step up attacks in an escalating war.

Messages were received on phones in Riyadh warning people of an "aerial threat" and urging them to take shelter. The alert was lifted a few minutes later.

W140 Full Story
Israeli strike in Gaza City kills woman

An Israeli strike on an apartment in Gaza City killed one woman early Wednesday, according to officials at Shifa hospital.

Israel’s military said it struck a Hamas militant but was still assessing the strike's outcome, without elaborating.

W140 Full Story
Saudi says Houthi attacks sparked Aramco fire, wounded 4 in Riyadh

A limited fire broke out Tuesday in an administrative building at Aramco, one of the world's largest oil facilities, that was targeted in an attack in the country's Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Energy said. The ministry said no injuries were reported.

The attack came as the Iranian-backed Houthis and the Saudi coalition fighting them exchanged attacks Tuesday night. The fighting marked a fresh escalation in the widening Middle East crisis and came shortly after the Saudi coalition reported a series of alerts for incoming missiles heading for the Eastern Province, a major oil-producing region, and the capital Riyadh.

W140 Full Story
Red Cross calls for urgent de-escalation in Middle East

The Red Cross called Tuesday for urgent de-escalation in the Middle East, warning that further fighting would be disastrous for tens of millions of civilians.

Yemen's civil war -- in which a Saudi-led military coalition supports the government against the Iran-backed Houthis -- reignited in July, months into the wider regional conflict that has roiled energy markets and plunged the Middle East into crisis.

W140 Full Story
Saudi-led coalition hits Sanaa oil site after evacuation warning, Houthis warn Saudi Aramco

Houthi-linked media Al-Masirah said Tuesday the Saudi-led coalition has carried out airstrikes against oil facilities in west of Sanaa. It didn’t not provide any evidence.

The report came shortly after a warning from the Saudi-led coalition spokesman calling on residents in the area to evacuate for their safety. Witnesses in the city said they heard explosions in Sanaa. It was not immediately clear what was hit.

W140 Full Story
Saudi-led coalition says intercepted three drones north of Riyadh

The Saudi-led military coalition fighting Yemen's Houthis said Tuesday that its forces intercepted three drones north of the capital Riyadh.

"Interception and destruction of 3 drones north of Riyadh city," Major General Turki al-Maliki, a spokesman for the coalition, wrote on X.

W140 Full Story