The Gulf, the Levant and beyond
Excavation restarted on October 4 in Quneitra, where Syrian accounts say Israeli forces have moved up to 1,000 meters into Syrian land. Syria called the work a flagrant breach of the 1974 disengagement agreement; Turkey said Israel was trying to create facts on the ground.
The transfer will fund initial payments of $3,000 per family, with around 50,000 families prioritised whose villages have been destroyed or are under Israeli occupation. Intermediaries charged a 20% fee — four times the normal rate — as US pressure makes moving money harder.
Hamas and Israel held their most intensive ceasefire talks in months, mediated by Qatar and Egypt. Trump's warning of 'hell to pay' if hostages weren't freed by 20 January gave negotiations a political clock neither side could ignore.
The war has cut Gulf oil production from 26 million barrels per day to around 16 million, with Qatar's natural gas output down roughly 67%. Gulf Cooperation Council economies are expected to shrink by an average of 4.3%.
The UN says clearing more than 60 million tons of debris could take seven to ten years, and only 1.5 per cent has been removed. Israel's restrictions on heavy machinery and shelter supplies are slowing the effort further.
Mohsen Paknejad cited personal reasons for his departure, though the timing comes as a US naval blockade disrupts oil sales that are central to government revenue. Hamid Bovard, chief executive of the National Iranian Oil Company, has been named acting minister.
The four leaders issued a joint declaration rejecting any threat to Egypt and Sudan's Nile water rights, backing Somalia's sovereignty and calling for a Sudanese-led peace process. The meeting came days after Ethiopia cut diplomatic ties with Eritrea and expelled an Egyptian diplomat.
The September deployments came after Gulf leaders urged Trump not to strike Iranian energy infrastructure, fearing retaliation against their own facilities. Trump said on Thursday he was considering renewing a bombing campaign within weeks.
The IDF published a dedicated website with names, photographs and alleged evidence for each person on the list. No independent verification of the claims has been carried out.
The route is intended to reduce Iraq's dependence on the strategically sensitive waterway. Key details — including which port is being used, the volumes involved and who is supplying the fuel — have not been disclosed.
Defence Minister Israel Katz ordered the closure on the military's recommendation. It bars most Palestinian permit holders from reaching work in Israel, cutting off a workforce already down from 160,000 to roughly 27,000 since the Gaza war began.
The Gaza Ministry of Health has recorded 71,271 deaths since October 2023, but the figure excludes those buried under rubble, the missing, and others its system never captured. The ministry publishes no breakdown between civilians and combatants.
Tehran sent the proposal through Qatari mediators, offering to halt fighting across the region in exchange for the US lifting port blockades, releasing frozen funds and waiving oil sanctions. Iran had received no official response as of Saturday, though indirect talks are continuing.
The UN Population Fund found families marrying off daughters in exchange for food. Six women in displacement camps reported cases of girls given away in marriage for something to eat.
The Huthis have seized control of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and declared a blockade of Saudi shipping, while Iran has partially closed the Strait of Hormuz. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has asked Trump directly for military intervention — and been turned down.
President Macron said the mission was agreed with Saudi Arabia and would be strictly defensive. Saudi forces intercepted six Houthi ballistic missiles aimed at Yanbu on Thursday, and tanker loadings at the port have yet to resume after drone strikes shut the pipeline earlier this month.
Routes to Baghdad, Muscat, Qatar, Georgia and Azerbaijan were suspended on Wednesday as a US deadline expired for foreign companies to stop servicing Iranian carriers. Thousands of travellers have been pushed towards land crossings through Turkey and Armenia.
Masoud Pezeshkian used his UN General Assembly address to accuse the US and Israel of terrorism and reject Trump's demand that Iran never possess a nuclear weapon. He said Tehran remained open to talks, but not under pressure.
The Iranian delegation walked out after hearing the threats. It is unclear whether their departure signals a lasting break in negotiations or a tactical response to Trump's language.
Netanel Shakrun, a father of six, was killed at a spring where Israelis had gathered for ritual bathing. Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian motorist the same day, saying he had tried to ram their vehicle — though the circumstances remain unclear.
The UK, France and Canada are among the countries behind the coordinated move. Britain's foreign secretary told parliament that Palestinians are facing ethnic cleansing in the West Bank, carried out by settler terrorists.
Tehran says any vessel entering the zone with the intention of transiting the strait will be placed on its sanctions list. The announcement sets out no specific enforcement mechanism.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard said it fired ballistic missiles at two US bases in Jordan in retaliation for US strikes on Larak Island. Crude oil prices rose more than four per cent as fighting spread, with US and Saudi forces also striking Iran-backed militants in Iraq.
The minimum wage now stands at around $88 a month, less than half the estimated cost of keeping an average household fed and housed. Teachers and retail workers face the same shortfall, and Washington has yet to announce its threatened new round of sanctions.
More than 60% of vessels transiting the strait switched off their tracking transponders in August, with energy carriers faring worse — over 80% went dark. Daily crossings have collapsed from around 138 before the war to as few as five.
American envoy Tom Barrack says Israel gave neither the US nor Turkey advance notice of strikes on a Syrian airbase near the Turkish border. Israel insists it shared intelligence beforehand — but US agencies had reviewed that same intelligence and concluded the threat wasn't real.
Tehran's top security official warned any country joining American-led restrictions would be treated as an enemy. The Trump administration is due to unveil what it calls the toughest sanctions in US history within days.
The Emirates says two ballistic missiles fired from Iranian territory landed in the sea, one inside UAE waters. Iran denies firing them, and no independent body has confirmed the launches.
The Trump envoy held direct talks with Hamas's new leader in Egypt, where the group signalled it would disarm — but only if Israel pulls back first. Netanyahu publicly rejected the US-backed peace roadmap last week, setting up a difficult visit to Tel Aviv on Monday.
More than 28,000 women have been widowed since October 2023, with pre-war registrations pushing the total past 50,000. Many widows have yet to be counted, and those who are carry near-total responsibility for tens of thousands of orphaned children in makeshift shelters.
The US president made his most optimistic public remarks since the ceasefire collapsed in early July, saying Iran 'can't go much longer.' Reports of low US weapons stockpiles have emerged alongside the diplomatic push.
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