Israeli security cabinet approves allowing international force into Gaza beyond Israeli-occupied areas Israel's security cabinet has approved allowing a proposed international force for Gaza enter parts of the enclave that are not under Israeli occupation, according to an Israeli official. The proposed International Security Force is part of the US-backed plan for Gaza proposed in October.
Iran foreign minister says Ukraine's attack on Iranian vessel 'cannot go unanswered' Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Sunday a Ukrainian attack on an Iranian commercial vessel "cannot go unanswered". His comments came in calls with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Araqchi posted on X. Zelenskyy has attacked an Iranian commercial vessel, killing a sailor.
Pope Leo calls to ‘suspend the attacks’ and return to dialogue Pope Leo XIV called for an end to escalating violence across the Middle East, urging those involved to “suspend the attacks” and urgently reopen channels of dialogue and diplomacy. “The intensification of military operations has again wreaked violence and destruction, endangering the lives of countless civilians and further aggravating the shortages of drinking water and electricity,” he said on X on Sunday. The pope also expressed “deep concern” over civilian casualties in Gaza and the occupied West Bank and appealed for a return to negotiations aimed at achieving a just political solution based on equal rights and dignity.
Tehran says it will halt attacks as long as US maintains pause Iran will halt its own attacks as long as the United States maintains its latest pause on air strikes, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Sunday, after President Donald Trump abruptly called off his two-week-old bombing campaign. After 13 nights of intensifying US air strikes on Iran, the Pentagon abruptly suspended the campaign late on Friday, with no attacks reported on either Saturday or Sunday. Iran, which had been following each night of US attacks with its own strikes on neighbouring countries that host American bases, has also so far held fire for two days.
Oil tanker explodes after hitting naval mine in Hormuz, Iranian media reports An oil tanker exploded after colliding with a naval mine in the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian media is reporting. Tasnim news agency said the vesell struck the mine after exiting a route in the waterway approved by Tehran.
Waves of settler attacks target mosques, homes and businesses across West Bank Submitted by Fayha Shalash on Sun, 07/26/2026 - 11:59 Attacks stretched from Nablus to Hebron, with Palestinian authorities calling for international action against large-scale settler violence Residents inspect the fire-damaged al-Rahma mosque in Qusra, south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, after an alleged settler arson attack (Muhammed Ateeq/Middle East Eye) Off Israeli settlers on Sunday launched a series of widespread attacks across the West Bank , setting on fire two mosques in Nablus and Tulkarm and damaging heavy equipment at an industrial facility near Ramallah. Eyewitnesses told Middle East Eye that settlers also raided several towns and villages, attacked homes, destroyed vehicles and fired live ammunition to terrorise residents. The attacks targeted communities in the governorates of Nablus, Tulkarm, Ramallah, Hebron, Salfit, Qalqilya, Jericho and Jerusalem, according to Palestinian officials who said settlers were acting under the protection of Israeli forces.
Lebanon's army condemns Israeli attacks preventing deployment in south Lebanon's army on Sunday condemned ongoing Israeli attacks in the country's south that it said were preventing its full deployment under a framework deal reached with Israel last month. "Israeli occupation forces continue their attacks and violations of current understandings and of international laws through the systematic destruction and bulldozing of homes, bombardment and sweeps with automatic weapons in several southern areas," an army statement said, adding that "the continuation of these attacks obstructs the army's full deployment according to current agreements and prevents the return of residents to their villages and towns".
Netanyahu says Israel 'prepared to act more broadly' in occupied West Bank Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyah told reporters on Sunday that Israel is "prepared to act more broadly" in the occupied West Bank following a surge in settler attacks and military raids against Palestinians over the weekend. “The instructions we gave were to enter villages, search them, seize weapons and make arrests,” Netanyahu said.
Tehran says will halt strikes after Washington pauses attacks Tehran has said it will stop retaliatory attacks on neighbouring Gulf countries following a two-night pause on US strikes targeting Iran. "Our strategy has essentially been retaliatory, we have also halted our retaliatory operations,” Iran’s army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia said according to the AFP news agency. The US has not attacked Iran for two consecutive nights, following daily strikes since fighting between the two countries resumed two weeks ago.
Gaza interior ministry confirms two senior officials killed in Deir al-Balah attack We reported earlier that two Palestinians had been killed in an Israeli strike on a vehicle near central Gaza's Deir al-Balah. Gaza's interior ministry has since confirmed that Colonel Wael Musa al-Ladawi (44) and Major Ramez Tawfiq Abu Zureiq (49) were killed when an Israeli air strike targeted their vehicle.
Israeli air strike on vehicle in Deir al-Balah kills two Two Palestinians have been killed and seven others wounded in an Israeli attack on a vehicle south of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, Wafa news agency reports. The Palestine Red Crescent Society said its teams transferred the two fatalities and wounded people to Al-Aqsa Hospital for treatment.
Saudi reconnaissance drone downed, claim Houthis The Houthis said on Sunday that they had downed a Saudi drone over the northwest of Yemen, a day after the group claimed it attacked oil facilities in the Gulf kingdom. The Houthis' military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group "successfully shot down a Turkish-made … armed reconnaissance drone belonging to the Saudi enemy while it was conducting hostile operations".
Israeli forces conduct 'major raid' in West Bank's Rafidia, settlers set light to mosques in Tulkarem and Nablus Israeli forces have launched a "major raid" in Rafidia near Nablus, Al Jazeera is reporting. According to the report, troops were also seen in Huwara assaulting a parademic and a civilian. Wafa news agency reports that Israeli forces detained 16 Palestinians, including a woman and several former prisoners, in raids across Tulkarem and Jenin governorates on Sunday.
Two Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza Two Palestinians have been killed and others wounded in Israeli attacks across Gaza this morning, Wafa news agency is reporting, citing medical sources. According to the sources, one of the people had succumbed to injuries sustained in a previous attack. In Gaza City, Israeli shelling targeted the east, while troops fired smoke grenades in the north, and demolished homes in the city's south.
Kuwait condemns Houthi attacks in Red Sea Kuwait's foreign ministry has condemned the Houthis' attacks on ships in the Red Sea, describing Saturday's strike on the Saudi vessel NCC MASA as a “flagrant violation of international law” and a direct threat to maritime security and international trade. In a statement, the ministry reaffirmed its “full solidarity” with Saudi Arabia and backed “all measures” taken by the kingdom to protect its sovereignty and security. Houthis had declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia last week and followed the announcement with attacks.
Report: Israel to demolish Palestinian homes as settlers burn two mosques Lieutenant Colonel Ella Waweya, a spokesperson for the Israeli army, says Israeli forces are raiding the homes of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank “in preparation for their temporary sealing, as a preliminary step preceding their demolition”, according to Al Jazeera The move comes after four Palestinians, who were trying to fend off a settler and Israeli forces’ raid, and two Israeli soldiers were killed on Friday in the village of Tal, southwest of Nablus. The Israeli military, however, said it had dispatched troops to the area following “an attack on Israelis hiking in the area”. Palestinian media, meanwhile, reported that settlers burned a mosque in the village of Kafr Qaddum, south of the city of Tulkarm.
Kuwait denies report claiming it sent jets to strike Iran Kuwait’s ambassador to the US, Sheikha Al-Zain Al-Sabah, has denied a report that claimed the country had sent fighter jets to attack Iran, Kuwaiti media said. Al-Sabah wrote to the editorial board of The Wall Street Journal, which reported on Friday that Kuwait and Bahrain sent fighter jets to attack sites inside Iran after Tehran launched missile and drone attacks on what it called US military assets in the Gulf countries. She called the report “utterly and completely baseless,” according to the official Kuwait News Agency.
Report: Trump paused Iran escalation over Patriot interceptor concerns US President Donald Trump has, for now, set aside plans to sharply escalate the American military campaign against Iran, with growing concern that a wider war could dangerously deplete the Pentagon's stockpile of Patriot missile interceptors and other air defence munitions in the Middle East, The New York Times reports. According to the newspaper, Trump discussed the conflict with senior advisers and cabinet officials during a meeting on Friday. The New York Times said Gen Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has privately warned that while renewed large-scale operations against Iran are militarily feasible, they would dangerously reduce interceptor stocks available to US Central Command, which oversees operations across the Middle East.
UN chief says Golan Heights Syrian territory, Israeli violations must cease UN chief Antonio Guterres has said that violations of Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity are “unacceptable and must cease”. “What is happening in the region around the Golan Heights is totally unacceptable," he said, adding: "I'd like to remind the international community that the Golan Heights are Syrian territory. " He called for an end to Israeli violations in Syria and urged international support for the country's transition on his first visit under the new authorities following years of civil war.
IRGC says Britain or any nation supporting US 'legitimate target' Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has warned that any nation, "including Britain or Persian Gulf states, offering support to the United States in the conflict would be considered a legitimate target", IRNA reported. An IRGC spokesperson said that "Israeli return to hostilities would be met with a devastating response". The warning came after Tehran summoned Ukrainian diplomats after Kyiv bombed an Iranian ship in the Caspian Sea, killing at least one soldier and injuring another.
