Israeli drone attack wounds people in southern Gaza A number of people have been wounded in an Israeli drone attack in Khan Younis, Al Jazeera reported on Thursday, citing Gaza's ambulance emergency services. No further information regarding casualties has been released.
The United States and Iran clashed at the UN Security Council on Thursday as US Ambassador Michael Waltz warned that President Donald Trump’s patience was “not unlimited” in the face of Iranian attacks on its Arab neighbors and commercial shipping.
Palestinian goalkeeper killed by Israel in Gaza as Fifa faces fresh calls to act Submitted by MEE staff on Thu, 07/02/2026 - 17:31 Tributes poured in after the Palestinian Football Association said Saleem al-Ashqar was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza Palestinian goalkeeper Saleem al-Ashqar (Facebook/@kadmatkh) Off Palestinian goalkeeper Saleem al-Ashqar was killed earlier this week by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) said in a statement on Monday, prompting tributes from football supporters, journalists, fans, and the public on social media. The PFA said the 32-year-old was killed by Israeli army fire. With Ashqar's death, the association said the number of Palestinian sports figures killed since the start of Israel's war on Gaza has risen to 1,009, including 567 members of the Palestinian football community.
Iran warns ‘forceful response’ to ships failing to comply with approved Hormuz routes Iran’s joint military command has warned ships moving through the Strait of Hormuz to use its approved routes or face a “forceful response”. “Any failure to comply, deviation from the designated route, or disregard for the navigation protocols of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Strait of Hormuz will be met with an immediate and forceful response from the armed forces”, it said in a statement carried by Iranian state TV on Thursday.
There was no immediate claim for the bombing at a cafe close to the Palace of Justice, a major government building.
Air raid sirens sound in northern Israel The Israeli army has reported in a post on X that “alerts have been activated in the Avashdim and Yir-on areas” of northern Israel. It added that the details are under review.
Six Kurdish fighters killed in clashes with Iran, says opposition group A Kurdish opposition group said on Thursday that six of its fighters were killed in fighting with Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps in western Iran near the border with Iraq. The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) said in a statement on X that the fighting took place on Wednesday night near the village of Qazqapan, three kilometres from the Iranian city of Pirashahr. The group, which is based in the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan, has been designated a terrorist organisation and accused of serving western and Israeli interests by Tehran.
Israeli drone strike targets hospital in southern Lebanon An Israeli drone strike targeted the Ghandour Hospital in the southern Lebanese town of Nabitiyeh, according to Lebanon’s state news agency on Thursday. There have been no immediate reports of casualties. At least 4,297 people have been killed and another 12,196 wounded in Israeli attacks on Lebanon since 2 March, the country's health ministry reported on Wednesday.
Seven Palestinians wounded in Israeli drone strike on central Gaza An Israeli drone strike targeting a motorcycle in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza has injured seven Palestinians on Thursday, Wafa news reports. All of those wounded, including one Palestinian who sustained critical injuries, were transferred to Al-Awda Medical Complex in Nuseirat for treatment.
Bomb blast at Damascus cafe kills six, authorities say A bomb blast at a cafe in Damascus on Thursday killed six people and wounded 22, according to Syrian authorities, making it the deadliest bombing since a suicide attack on a church last year. The blast happened near the capital's Palace of Justice, a key government building, but was not immediately claimed by any group.
Starmer is leaving Burnham with a massive bill for defence. But why the war fever? Submitted by Joe Gill on Thu, 07/02/2026 - 10:28 There is a concerted campaign to prepare the public for war with Russia.
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Khatam al-Anbia Central Headquarters warned that any US violation in the Strait of Hormuz will be considered a threat to Iran’s national sovereignty and will be met with the country’s decisive response.
Reacting to the decision by Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger to deposit formal notifications of withdrawal from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Marceau Sivieude, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa, said: “This decision by the governments of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger threatens to deny thousands of victims the possibility of truth, justice and reparations. For more than a decade, Amnesty International has documented crimes under international law committed against civilians during conflicts in each of these countries. Many of these crimes could fall within the jurisdiction of the […] The post Burkina Faso/Mali/Niger: Withdrawal from the Rome Statute consecrates impunity and threatens to deny victims of war crimes justice and reparations appeared first on Amnesty International .
IRGC say they killed Kurdish fighters in northwest Iran Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said they had killed five members of the banned Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) in the country’s northwest, state media reported on Thursday. The IRGC said the group was ambushed after entering Iranian territory in mountainous border areas near Piranshahr in West Azerbaijan province, without specifying when the operation took place. According to the Norway-based Kurdish rights group Hengaw, the fighting took place on Wednesday evening.
Lebanese president says will not yield 'a single inch' of territory to Israel Lebanese President Joseph Aoun defended on Thursday negotiations with Israel, saying they were not a betrayal and he would not surrender "a single inch of Lebanon's territory", according to the presidency. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday that the Israeli army would remain "until further notice" in what Israel described as "security zones" in Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip.
The 15-member Security Council is convening an emergency meeting on Thursday morning to address the escalating situation between Iran and Bahrain. Stay tuned for live updates.
Iranian press review: Calls grow to maintain military pressure on Gulf states Submitted by MEE correspondent on Thu, 07/02/2026 - 09:58 Mothers mark Ashura by mourning children killed in protests, lawmakers challenge Ghalibaf over suspension of parliament, and the national football team is praised abroad but criticised at home The sun sets over a vessel off the coast of Dubai on 2 June 2026 (AFP) Off Military pressure is key to Gulf trade deals, says analyst A younger generation of analysts close to Iran's ruling establishment says the only way to reach trade deals with the Arab states of the southern Gulf is to maintain military pressure on them. The group has gained more space to express its views after many senior Iranian political and military figures were killed in this year's US-Israeli war on Iran. Speaking on a television roundtable, Majid Shakeri, an analyst close to Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said there was no way to secure a practical trade agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) without continued military pressure.
Israel's largest oil refineries to undergo years of repairs after Iranian strikes, report says Submitted by Nadav Rapaport on Thu, 07/02/2026 - 10:31 Channel 12 says Haifa refineries suffered more damage than officials admitted and will be under reconstruction until 2028 Firefighters tackle a fire at a refinery in Israel's northern city of Haifa on 30 March 2026, following a projectile impact (Jack Guez/AFP) Off Israel 's largest oil refineries sustained far heavier damage from Iranian missile strikes during the US-Israeli war on Iran than authorities previously acknowledged, Israeli media reported. Reconstruction works at the refineries in Haifa Bay, in the north of Israel, are expected to be completed in 2028. Israel's Channel 12 News reported on Monday that they sustained severe damage after two separate Iranian strikes earlier this year, despite Minister of Energy Eli Cohen and Bazan, the company operating the site, claiming no material damage had been recorded.
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – In the 1,000 days since the Israeli genocidal war in Gaza began, at least 21,000 children have been confirmed killed in the enclave, according to Save the Children.
Iran warns US against interference in Strait of Hormuz Iran said on Thursday that any US interference in the Strait of Hormuz would trigger a "decisive and rapid" response, adding that the continued presence of Us air assets across the waterway endangered regional security, Iranian state media reported. Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, which coordinates Iran's armed forces operations, said all tanker and commercial vessels must follow routes designated by Tehran for safe passage through the strait, adding that deviations or failure to comply with navigation protocols would face an immediate response.
