Saudi Arabia said three people were injured in the latest attacks on its airports since fighting with Yemen’s Houthi rebels reignited. Meanwhile, Palestinian officials said Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City killed two people, while condemning home demolitions in east Jerusalem and violence in the occupied West Bank.
Nearly three years after the Palestinian militant Hamas group’s Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel, conflict in the Middle East has persisted almost without interruption, spreading across the region, including to Iran, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen.
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Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Tuesday. Full coverage is available here.
Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civ il Aviation said airports in the cities of Najran and Jizan were hit on Monday, damaging both facilities and leaving three lightly injured. The statement didn't say who was responsible, but followed an announcement by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels that they fired missiles and drones at the kingdom.
Houthi Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said in a statement on Tuesday they had fired toward a third airport on Tuesday. The Associated Press could not confirm whether the Houthis had hit Abha International Airport. Saudi authorities did not immediately comment.
Saudi Arabia and its allies in Yemen’s internationally recognized government have launched a military campaign to reclaim Houthi-controlled territory near the southern tip of the Red Sea to prevent disruptions to oil being exported out of the region.
An outbound tanker transiting the Strait of Hormuz was struck by an “unknown projectile” on Monday, the British military said in a late report Tuesday. There were no immediate reports of casualties or environmental impact.
Even as Iran has lost its near-complete chokehold on the strait, the ongoing risk of Iranian attacks keeps overall ship traffic well below prewar levels.
Two Israeli airstrikes killed two people in Gaza City, health officials at the city’s Shifa Hospital said. Israel's military said it targeted militants in both strikes.
It was the latest deadly attack since a ceasefire took effect nearly a year ago. More than 1,460 Palestinians have been killed since then, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, maintains detailed records and is seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its toll but says women and children make up around half the dead.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas could attack Israel in a bid to influence the outcome of the country's elections later this month. Netanyahu, who is locked in a tough battle for re-election, did not publicly provide evidence for the claim.
At a Cabinet meeting Tuesday, he said Israel would “respond with tremendous force if they make that mistake.”
In recent days, Netanyahu's political opponents have pointed to the thwarted FlyDubai cockpit attack as the latest example of his government's failure to manage security threats.
Jaafar Ishtyeh, a veteran Palestinian photojournalist for Agence France-Presse, said he was filming the olive harvest in the village of Aqraba when he heard shooting by Israeli settlers. He said they later encircled him, took his camera as he was filming the attack and beat him, causing injuries that required hospitalization.
The Palestinian Authority said settlers in the area also shot one man in the leg and severely beat two others in the town south of Nablus. Israel’s military did not provide immediate comment on the attack.
The attack was the latest this harvest season, during which four Palestinians have been killed and more than 100 injured, according to Palestinian officials.
Israeli authorities tore down a five-story building in east Jerusalem on Tuesday, the latest in a string of home demolitions to hit predominantly Palestinian neighborhoods in the city.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir attended the demolition and said that Israeli authorities had demolished more than 10,000 structures built without permits over the past year and a half.
Palestinians say the process of procuring construction permits is nearly impossible for them in east Jerusalem, which Israel annexed in the 1967 Mideast war and is home to almost 400,000 Palestinians.
“This has become political ... a displacement process," said Fayez Saeed Khalafawi, an apartment owner in the demolished building. "They demolish our house so we put up a tent. Where are we supposed to go?” he said.
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This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.
