Israel imposed widespread closures and displaced residents in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron a day after attacks by Palestinian gunmen that killed two soldiers.
And an Iranian military commander said his country will not allow U.S. warships to enter the Persian Gulf as concerns grow of a return to all-out war. Meanwhile, the death toll rose from Friday’s attack on a church in Jordan. Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Saturday.
Up to 300 families left Deir Baha and two adjacent neighborhoods, according to a tally from Hebron’s municipality. Two strikes killed 14 people, including a woman and a child, in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, according to the Health Ministry run by Iran-backed Houthi rebels. 3. More than 1,500 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by the Israeli military since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began in October 2025, according to the territory’s health ministry.
Palestinian news outlet WAFA said Israeli troops forced dozens of residents to evacuate their homes. On Friday, it said its forces had begun “conducting precise, targeted and thorough searches” in the area from where the gunmen had operated. And an airstrike hit homes in Hodeida province, killing at least four people, health authorities said. The internationally recognized government’s interior ministry said the Houthis attacked the coast guard headquarters at its complex with two ballistic missiles. The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis earlier said it intercepted three ballistic missiles fired by the Houthis toward the Saudi capital, Riyadh, and Taif and Yanbu cities. It also said it destroyed a drone over the country’s eastern region. The spill impacted the beaches of Umm Al Quwain, one of the seven emirates making up the federation, and cleanup efforts were underway, the Climate Change and Environment Ministry said. The ministry said the spill poses no health risks but did not provide details about its scale. An Iranian military commander said Iran will not allow U.S. warships to enter the Persian Gulf or approach Iran’s territorial waters, according to the state-run IRNA news agency. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian accused Washington of disrupting negotiations to end the war but said he still believes “we have to go and finish it. He said Iran’s supreme leader had instructed Iranian officials to “go and finish it (the deal),” but “these scoundrels broke the rules of the game. Israeli strikes killed at least one person in Gaza City and injured others, health officials at Shifa Hospital said. Israel’s army said it struck a military operative. Part of the Hamas-run government, the ministry does not distinguish between civilians and militants but says women and children make up nearly half of those killed.
A ninth person has died after gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a church in Jordan, state television reported. Authorities in Ras al-Khaimah announced that all beaches across the emirate would remain closed until further notice. It came two weeks after Iran’s state-run broadcaster reported an oil tanker had struck a naval mine and caught fire while attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz without coordinating with Tehran.
Associated Press reporters saw Israeli flags draped over a home seized for military use in Deir Baha. Israel’s army didn’t respond to questions about the operation. More than two dozen people were receiving treatment in hospitals. Footage broadcast on state television showed a crowd fleeing in panic. Karak is home to a minority Christian population. The Houthis blamed neighboring Saudi Arabia as fighting has escalated. Saudi Arabia did not respond to a request for comment. The Associated Press couldn’t independently verify the claims. At least two explosions were later heard near the international airport in Yemen’s southern city of Aden, the seat of the internationally recognized government. The Houthi military spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, claimed responsibility, saying a military camp and a naval base were targeted. The United Arab Emirates closed beaches and warned fishermen to avoid parts of its Gulf shores after an oil spill from a tanker. Images obtained by the AP showed oil washing up along the beach. Ali Abdollahi, chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces and commander of its joint military command, also warned U.S. President Donald Trump that U.S. forces would never return to the Strait of Hormuz. His comments aired on state television. We were holding talks, and they disrupted them. Pezeshkian did not give details. Anxiety has been growing in Iran and elsewhere that the U.S. or Israel will resume attacks before or just after Tuesday’s elections in Israel or the U.S. midterm elections on Nov. The State Department reissued travel advisories for Americans in or traveling to the Middle East, citing threats posed by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels. Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are covered by the warnings and have appeared in previous travel alerts since the start of the Iran war. The alerts follow the department reducing staffing at four U.S. embassies in the Middle East after receiving intelligence that Iran has stepped-up efforts to target American personnel. The ministry maintains detailed records and is regarded as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts.
Gunmen on Friday opened fire at a Greek Orthodox church in Karak, south of Jordan’s capital, Amman.
