Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians in towns across the occupied West Bank during the olive harvest, beating residents and a foreign journalist.
Meanwhile, a drone strike on a busy market in Sudan killed or wounded dozens of people. And a monitor says October is already the busiest month for reported attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz since March.
Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Friday. Read our full coverage here.
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Israeli settlers target Palestinians across the West Bank
Local officials and the Palestine Red Crescent Society reported attacks in at least eight villages in the northern West Bank, where most olive groves are concentrated. The Red Crescent said its medics had tended to 14 wounded people, while local officials reported at least four injuries.
In the village of Abu Falah, settlers attacked as residents accompanied by peace activists set out early for the harvest. Several members beat Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine, who was hospitalized for her injuries. Israel’s military condemned the violence and acknowledged that a journalist had been injured.
Settler violence against Palestinians has soared this year and spiked further in the weeks leading up to Israel’s Oct. 27 election. Israeli authorities have done little to stop the attacks, residents and rights groups say.
At least four Palestinians have been killed and more than 100 others injured since the harvest season began earlier this month, according to Palestinian officials. They say thousands of trees have been damaged.
Deadly drone strike in Sudan kills or wounds dozens
A drone strike on a market in Sudan’s South Darfur killed or wounded dozens of civilians, a rights group said.
The strike, carried out on the market’s busiest day of the week, was blamed on the Sudanese armed forces, according to Emergency Lawyers, a group tracking violence against civilians in Sudan.
The medical group Doctors Without Borders, or MSF, said at least four people were killed including a child.
Sudan’s civil war started in April 2023 when tensions between the military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces exploded into open fighting in the capital, Khartoum, and spread across the country.
Reported shipping attacks jump in Strait of Hormuz
A British monitor says October has become the busiest month for reported attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz since March, during the Iran war’s opening months.
That’s as the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, or UKMTO, said it was “struggling to accurately report” the true number of attacks since most ships now refuse to report them.
Still, UKMTO said 10 attacks were reported in the week ending Friday. One ship sank. Since early July, most attacks have occurred off Oman, where the U.S. military has been guiding vessels at risk of Iranian attack.
There has been an uptick in attacks since U.S. President Donald Trump late last month rejected a Tehran proposal to end the war and open the strait, though indirect negotiations have continued.
Iran rejects claim it is supporting Houthis’ escalation
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said his country rejects claims it plays a role in the escalation of fighting in Yemen.
Rayed Krimly, deputy minister for public diplomacy at the Saudi foreign ministry, told reporters Thursday that Iran’s government is encouraging the latest escalation in attacks by the Iran-backed rebels.
Baghaei told reporters that the Houthis “act on the basis of their own interests and assessments,” adding that “resolving the Yemen issue requires respect for the country’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
He said Iran is ready to “help resolve issues” between Saudi Arabia and Yemen, adding that Iran could act as a mediator “if requested by the parties.”
Houthi missiles struck near Saudi-backed coalition’s headquarters
Two of the missiles launched by Houthi rebels on Thursday struck near the headquarters of the Saudi-backed coalition forces in Aden, causing damage, a Yemeni government official said.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak to the media, said the missiles landed near the compound used by the coalition in Buraiqah, a neighborhood west of the palace. No senior officials were there at the time of the attack, he said.
The attacks on the palace compound of Yemen’s internationally recognized government killed at least five people and wounded more than a dozen others, government officials said. The Houthis claimed responsibility.
- By Sarah El Deeb
Yemen’s security service detains a reporter, among others
The Yemeni government’s security department in Aden confirmed the arrest of reporter Murad Mohammed Saeed, among other people. The department’s statement didn’t say how many were detained or the charges against them.
Saeed has worked for several newspapers and news websites, including Aden Al-Ghad newspaper, according to his Facebook page. There were several posts on his account, including footage of strikes in Aden.
The security department linked the arrests to previous warnings against circulating footage that could reveal sensitive details or affect security operations.
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This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.
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