Middle East

A US Air Force officer has described “free-falling” to the ground with a damaged parachute after his plane was shot down over Iran, leading to a dangerous rescue operation. “At one point, when I looked up and saw no parachute, that was the most terrifying thing I’ve ever seen,” said …

On Friday, Yemeni pro-government forces withdrew from Perim (also known as Mayyun). Witnesses reported that Houthi forces moved onto the island, but there has been no immediate confirmation from the Houthis. The island sits at the narrowest point of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which has become increasingly important following the …

On Tuesday, the Houthis launched dozens of drones and missiles at southern Saudi Arabia, injuring 73 civilians and causing fires at several oil facilities that led to a temporary halt in operations, according to Saudi authorities. The Houthis said they were retaliating for dozens of Saudi air strikes on their …

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told lawyers to begin defamation proceedings against an Israeli newspaper over reports that the leader of the United Arab Emirates warned him that Hamas was planning an operation just days before the 7 October 2023 attacks. According to book extracts published by Haaretz, UAE …

Algeria is severing diplomatic ties with the United Arab Emirates after “provocative or hostile” acts by the Gulf state, its foreign ministry said. “Algeria spared no effort to draw the Emirati side and warned it of the dire consequences that could result from its regrettable and unjustified behaviour,” it said. …

The UN nuclear watchdog has referred Iran to the Security Council for “non-compliance” with its obligations under the non-proliferation treaty – the first such move in 20 years. The board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) passed a resolution at a meeting in Vienna. It cites a …

BBC correspondent Katy Watson reports from Jerusalem. BBC News

The spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, Maj Gen Turki al-Maliki, said the Houthi drone and missile attacks targeted civilian and economic sites in the cities of Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan and Najran, and that women and children were among the injured. An energy ministry statement cited an official …

Israeli air strikes on a village in southern Lebanon have killed at least 11 people, including two children, Lebanese state media say. Nine people were killed in one strike that destroyed a three-storey residential building in Kfar Rumman shortly after midnight, while two paramedics were killed in a second strike …

Three experts give their BBC their thoughts on whether an imminent end to the conflict is likely. BBC News

Three Lebanese farmers have been detained by Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, according to the leader of their village. Issa Abedelaal told the BBC that Israeli forces called the three farmers on their mobile phones and instructed them to report to a location, where they were detained and taken away. …

At least 81 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the West Bank since the start of the year, according to the UN’s figures. Twenty-five of those deaths have occurred in the context of settler attacks. Three Israelis, both security forces and civilians, have been killed by …

Saudi Arabia has condemned what it said was an Iranian attack on a Saudi-owned supertanker on Monday night that killed two Filipino sailors. The Saudi national shipping company, Bahri, confirmed on Wednesday that its vessel Sidr was “involved in a security incident while transiting the Strait of Hormuz”. Sidr was …

A BBC team has joined a humanitarian mission of the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, known as Unifil, which is one of the only ways to visit the area under Israeli occupation. There, as it did in Gaza, Israel has flattened entire villages, and air strikes and demolitions have continued …

Iran has launched missile and drone attacks at US targets across the Middle East, after American forces resumed strikes against Iran. The Iranian Red Crescent said four people – including a child – were killed at wedding celebrations when a US missile hit a building in southern Iran. BBC Verify …

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has warned his country will retaliate if the UK imposes sanctions against it over the potential expansion of settlements in the West Bank. Addressing Parliament for the first time as foreign secretary, Ed Miliband said he would introduce a “comprehensive reset” of policy on Israel …

At least two Palestinian children and a woman have been killed by Israeli fire in western Gaza City, Palestinian medics say. Unconfirmed local reports say that an Israel-backed Palestinian militia carried out a raid and that the Israeli military carried out shelling and air strikes after it was discovered. A …

Iran and the US have traded strikes after American forces attacked two rocket launchers on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz. BBC News

Former British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari has married partner Danielle Amit in a ceremony held in Tel Aviv. The couple, who met after Damari’s release in 2025, have been engaged since January 2026. Their wedding on Thursday was attended by several of Damari’s fellow former hostages, including Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher, …

The Board of Peace’s high representative for Gaza told the Security Council on Wednesday that he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed at their last meeting on a mechanism through which his government’s remaining questions would be settled and that committees had been established for that purpose. Mladenov …