US military says 87 vessels diverted so far in Strait of Hormuz US Central Command (Centcom) said it has redirected a total of 87 vessels in the Strait of Hormuz amid the naval blockade of Iran. Centcom also said in its update that it has disabled three ships so far and boarded another two to ensure “total compliance” with the blockade.
Israeli attack injures two Palestinian children in occupied West Bank Israeli forces shot and injured two Palestinian children in Beit Fajjar, south of Bethlehem, the Wafa news agency reported. The children were wounded when Israeli forces opened fire with live ammunition during a raid on the town, the report said.
Vance says US probing air strike on wedding party in Iran US Vice President JD Vance on Thursday said the United States is investigating an air strike that Iran says struck a wedding party in Iran. "We're investigating it because obviously we care. We want to know," Vance told reporters during a White House press briefing.
Far-right Israeli minister sets out plan to forcibly displace Palestinians from Gaza Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said it was a "realistic" plan to forcibly remove Palestinians from Gaza and send them abroad. Ben Gvir said his plan aims to displace 250,000 Palestinians from the strip in the first year, followed by roughly 2 million residents over the next six years. Speaking in the run-up to closely contested Israeli elections next month, Ben-Gvir said, there are countries “ready” to take the displaced Palestinians.
Lebanon receives first prisoner of five to be freed by Israel Lebanon said it received a man freed from Israeli detention on Thursday, as Israel announced it would release five people detained from the country's south. The announcement came after Lebanon said its army received a man returned by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the first since Beirut called in August talks for the release of an initial group improsoned by Israel since the start of war in 2024.
US diplomat Boulos won't name 'at least 12 countries' involved in Sudan war Submitted by Oscar Rickett on Thu, 09/03/2026 - 15:51 Trump adviser does not name UAE, Egypt or Turkey, saying 'we are not here to go into these details' Massad Boulos, senior advisor to the US president on Arab and Middle Eastern Affairs, speaks with the media outside the White House in Washington, DC, 21 July 2026 (AFP) Off US President Donald Trump’s senior adviser on African and Arab affairs has said “at least 12 countries” are involved in the Sudan war but has declined to name them. Massad Boulos, whose son Michael is married to Trump’s daughter Tiffany, told the BBC’s Focus on Africa that “all of the neighbouring countries in the region are participating in one way or another, or facilitating certain acts” in the war. “As for the military support, this is done currently by all the neighbouring countries in addition to some other regional actors.
Death toll from Israeli settler attacks spirals in 'most violent' year for West Bank Submitted by Fayha Shalash on Thu, 09/03/2026 - 13:59 Thousands of attacks by Israeli settlers and soldiers have left at least 76 Palestinian dead in 2026 An Israeli settler attacks a left-wing activist at an Israeli outpost in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian village of Jannatah, just south of the city of Bethlehem on 25 August 2026 (Ilia Yefimovich / AFP) Off During a settler attack aimed at stealing sheep, the Israeli army killed a Palestinian boy and a young man on Wednesday evening in the village of Al-Mughayyir, east of Ramallah. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, Omar Muhammad Na’san, 19, and Khalil Rasem Shahada, 16, were shot dead by Israeli soldiers. Marzouq Abu Na’im, a member of the village council and an activist documenting settler attacks there, told Middle East Eye that armed settlers attacked a house to steal livestock.
Israel returns body of Palestinian teenager it killed in 2025 Israel has returned the body of 15-year-old Palestinian Jadallah Jihad Jumaa Jadallah, whom its forces shot dead in November 2025. Palestinian authorities received his remains in the occupied West Bank months after his killing, according to the Wafa news agency. Jadallah’s family will now make arrangements for his burial.
How Israel armed Argentina to kill British soldiers during Falklands War Submitted by Imran Mulla on Thu, 09/03/2026 - 12:13 As the Falklands issue raises its head again, MEE looks back at how Israel caused the deaths of dozens of British soldiers by arming the Argentinian dictatorship in the 1980s Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin (R) with his military chief Rafael Eitan in the Golan Heights in the 1980s (Wikimedia Commons) Off Tensions between Britain and Israel are rapidly escalating with Andy Burnham's government gearing up to announce a raft of strong measures on the occupied West Bank, including a ban on goods from illegal Israeli settlements. In response, Israel has threatened Britain. "If Britain acts against Israel, Israel will act against Britain," Foreign Minister Gideon Saar warned this week.
Israel releases five Lebanese men detained in southern Lebanon Israel has released five Lebanese men its forces detained in areas under military control in southern Lebanon, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office. The office said Israeli interrogators found that the men had no affiliation with any armed organisation and that authorities had no grounds to continue holding them.
Ben Gvir set to unveil $20bn plan to ethnically cleanse Gaza within seven years Submitted by Elis Gjevori on Thu, 09/03/2026 - 12:35 The far-right leader will make the plan a condition for joining any future Israeli coalition Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir (C) storms Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem on 23 July 2026 (Ilia Yefimovich/AFP) Off Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir will unveil a plan on Thursday to "encourage voluntary emigration from Gaza ", making it a central plank of his election campaign and a key demand for joining any future coalition. Ben Gvir, who leads the Jewish supremacist Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party, has called the ethnic cleansing plan “Disengagement 710”. Israeli media reports that the far-right minister has spent months developing the proposal, which aims to force 250,000 Palestinians from Gaza during its first year.
US attack kills six Iranian navy personnel, Tasnim reports Six members of Iran’s navy were killed in a US attack this week, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
Iran warns ‘dark months’ await US economy after renewed attacks Iranian First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref says Washington has transformed Tehran’s security and defence calculations, warning that Iran will deliver an “asymmetrical” and “multi-layered” response. “The Americans should start thinking about stockpiling gasoline and fuel. Dark months await the American economy,” Aref wrote on X.
Iran confirms missile and drone attacks on US bases in UAE and Kuwait Iran’s army says it launched missiles and suicide drones at US military bases in the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait early today. The strikes hit satellite communications systems, equipment warehouses and hangars housing American fighter jets at Kuwait’s Ahmed Al Jaber Air Base, the army said. Iranian forces also targeted US positions and radar systems at Al Minhad Air Base in the UAE.
Israel admits it assassinated senior Assad official in Syria in 2008 Submitted by Alex MacDonald on Thu, 09/03/2026 - 10:17 New book says Muhammad Suleiman oversaw construction of nuclear reactor in Deir Ezzor Muhammad Suleiman was a senior aide to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (AFP) Off Israel has admitted to assassinating a senior aide to former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in 2008, after years of official silence. In a new book by former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, he admits to the killing of Muhammad Suleiman. The Syrian officer was a chief military and intelligence aide who was also in charge of the construction and security of the Syrian nuclear facility in Deir Ezzor.
Iran warns US of retaliation if Israel storms southern Lebanon ridge Iran has warned Washington that it will launch a major retaliatory attack if Israel mounts a full-scale offensive on the Ali al-Taher ridge in southern Lebanon, three officials briefed on the message told Reuters. Tehran delivered the warning through Oman in mid-August, according to two regional officials. A third official said US pressure prompted Israel to postpone an assault on the strategically important ridge.
Iran says no one can reopen Strait of Hormuz without its consent Iran will decide whether vessels can pass through the Strait of Hormuz, according to Ebrahim Azizi, chairman of parliament’s National Security Commission. Azizi said Iran’s adversaries had withdrawn more than 800km from the region after previously maintaining a military presence there. He said they had turned to “malicious actions” after failing to “unlock” the strategic waterway.
Iran urges UN action over deadly US attack on wedding Iran has accused the United States of committing a “war crime” by bombing a wedding gathering in southern Hormozgan province. In a letter to the United Nations Security Council, Iranian Ambassador Gholamhossein Darzi described the attack on civilians as an “appalling” and “egregious” crime that violated international law. Darzi urged the UN to “hold the United States fully responsible” and ensure it brings “an end to its acts of aggression” against Iran.
'Inappropriate to say': Trump may still be considering CIA-led uprising in Iran US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said it "wouldn't be appropriate to say" if he would greenlight the CIA arming Iranians to encourage a violent uprising, a day after he asked on his TruthSocial account, "When are the Iranian people going to rise up and fight? " Trump was taking unscheduled questions in the Oval Office, after the US unleashed a barrage of strikes on Iran's southern coast on Tuesday, killing 18 people, including two children at a wedding. "Will you send the CIA in to arm Iranians?
Morning update Good morning Middle East Eye readers, Here are the latest developments: The spokesperson for Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said that it laid more naval mines south of Strait of Hormuz, dismissing US claims of control over the strategic passage. "The only thing CENTCOM could do in response was rename the Strait using Photoshop. Problem solved!
