Netanyahu threatens more strikes on Yemen
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to continue striking Yemen until he reaches the leaders of the Houthi rebels, after the Israeli army confirmed strikes on the ports of Hodeida and Salif.
“Our pilots have just successfully struck two Houthi terrorist ports, and this is just the beginning; there will be more strikes,” Netanyahu said in a video message. “We are not prepared to stand by and let the Houthis attack us. We will hit them much harder, including their leaders.”
Conference on two-state solution June 17-20
The international conference announced by France and Saudi Arabia to relaunch a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine will be held from June 17 to 20 in New York, French diplomatic sources said on Friday.
The Houthi rebels in Yemen reported Friday Israeli strikes on ports in the Hodeida province, which they control in the south of the country.
The rebels' television network Al-Massirah announced "Israeli aggression" on the ports in the cities of Hodeida and Salif. The Israeli army had called on Wednesday to evacuate three ports controlled by the Houthis in Yemen, including those of Hodeida and Salif, which it claimed were used for "terrorist activities."
Israel's Defense Ministry confirmed that Israel carried out strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen on Friday.
In a statement, the defense ministry stated that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz and Israeli army chief of staff Eyal Zamir all "watched while Israel's Air Force planes struck targets of the Houthis' terror regime in Yemen."
Hamas called on Washington to put pressure on Israel to let aid into Gaza, AFP reported.
Israel intensifies army raids in occupied-West Bank
The Israeli army has continued its raids, demolitions and displacements in Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps in the north of the occupied-West Bank, according to the Palestinian Wafa news agency.
In the past week, Israeli troops demolished at least 20 buildings, the report said. The Israeli army also continues to tighten restrictions, preventing Palestinians from moving in and out of the two refugee camps and returning to their homes, it added.
Since late February, the Israeli army has conducted a large-scale military offensive across the occupied West Bank, focusing on Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams.
Since then, over 40,000 Palestinians remain displaced in the north of the territory, according to the U.N.
South Lebanon
Ahmad Hourani told L'Orient Today that his prefabricated house in Naqoura was hit by an Israeli strike at 11 p.m. on Thursday. “I'm the only house that was targeted last night,” he says.
Our journalist Lyana Alameddine had met him in April. Read her report here.
Israeli attacks continue in occupied-West Bank
Hamas said Israeli “settler gangs, supported by the occupation army,” continue their attacks in the occupied West Bank.
Hamas said in a statement on Telegram that "the latest attacks took place at dawn in several villages in the Salfit governorate and northwest of Nablus."
The group also said the attacks "reflect a dangerous escalation and called for increased resistance and confrontation with the settlers."
Gaza cease-fire talks at a standstill
According to sources cited by Haaretz, there "has been no progress on cease-fire and hostage negotiations in Qatar."
“Israel’s position is rigid, Hamas hasn’t folded, the Americans have lost interest, Trump is on his way home, and Witkoff is no longer involved. He’s waiting to hear what we want, and since we don’t want anything, he has nothing left to do,” one source was quoted by Haaretz said.
Clash between south Lebanon residents and 'unauthorized' UNIFIL patrol
Residents of Bint Jbeil district's Jmaijmeh village condemned what they called "repeated violations by UNIFIL," accusing the peacekeeping force of "entering the area without Lebanese Army coordination and trespassing on private property."
The allegations came in the wake of a confrontation this morning in which UNIFIL said its patrol was "attacked by civilians armed with metal sticks and axes."
According to a statement released by Jmaijmeh residents: “Following repeated violations by UNIFIL forces, who entered the Jmaijmeh hills for the second time without coordination with the Lebanese Army and trespassed on private property, the residents rushed to inspect their lands and requested that the UNIFIL forces withdraw and refrain from further incursions.”
Trump says Iran should 'move quickly' on nuclear deal or 'something bad is going to happen'
U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran has his administration's proposal and knows it needs to move quickly, a day after saying Washington and Tehran were close to a nuclear deal amid ongoing high-level negotiations, Reuters reports.
"They have a proposal. More importantly, they know they have to move quickly or something bad — something bad's going to happen," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One after leaving the UAE to return to Washington this afternoon.
Trump's remarks represent the first time he's acknowledged an American proposal with Tehran after multiple negotiations between U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who told journalists at the Tehran International Book Fair on Thursday that Iran had not received any proposals from the Americans yet.
U.S. President Donald Trump (L) receives the Order of Zayed, United Arab Emirates' highest civil decoration named after the first president of the UAE, Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, from his UAE counterpart Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, at Qasr A
Trump says 'good things' will happen in next month in Gaza aboard Air Force One
U.S. President Donald Trump backed aid for the Palestinians, saying people in Gaza are starving and adding that he expected "a lot of good things" in the next month, Reuters reports.
Asked whether he supported Israeli plans to expand the war in Gaza, Trump told reporters: "I think a lot of good things are going to happen over the next month, and we're going to see. We have to also help out the Palestinians. You know, a lot of people are starving in Gaza, so we have to look at both sides."
Trump also said he did not consult ally Israel about the U.S. decision to recognize Syria's new government, despite deep Israeli suspicion of President Ahmad al-Sharaa's administration.
"I didn't ask them about that," he said. "I thought it was the right thing to do. I've been given a lot of credit for doing it. Look, we want Syria to succeed," Trump said aboard Air Force One, shortly after departing Abu Dhabi at the close of a four-day Middle East trip.
Syria could see sanctions lifted in coming weeks
The U.S. is likely to begin lifting its sanctions on Syria in the coming weeks, Reuters reports, following Trump's announcement on Wednesday that all the Assad-era sanctions would cease.
According to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump intends to issue waivers under the "Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act," through which Washington imposed stiff sanctions on the Assad regime and prohibited any government or company from making deals with it.
Speaking to reporters in Antalya, Turkey, Rubio said that Republican and Democratic members of the U.S. Congress had asked the Trump administration to use waiver authorities in the "Caesar Act" to lift sanctions. Overturning the bill would require congressional action, but it includes a provision allowing the president to suspend the sanctions for national security reasons. Trump could also issue a general license suspending some or all of the sanctions.
Palestinians flee as Israeli tanks advance in Gaza
According to Al Arabya's correspondent on the ground, Palestinians are scrambling to flee in the wake of Israeli tanks advancing into several populated areas in both northern and southern Gaza.
Gaza's emergency services spokesperson told the outlet that many residents who attempted to evacuate have been killed by Israeli tank and gun fire. “Our crews heard the voices of trapped citizens, but we were unable to reach them in time," one first responder said. "They died before we could rescue them.”
The chief of the Beit Hanoun police station was killed in one of the attacks and residents are reportedly unsure whether to evacuate or stay where they are, and where, if they did manage to flee, they should evacuate to, Haaretz reports, citing Al Arabya. Earlier today, some had already begun to flee from Beit Lahiya and Jabalia as Israeli tanks closed in.
Trump says U.S. will 'take care' of Gaza
U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters this morning that the U.S. will "take care" of Gaza, during a press conference at an Abu Dhabi business forum, according to reports in Israeli media.
"We are looking at Gaza, we're gonna get that taken care of. A lot of people are starving," he said. "There's a lot of bad things going on."
Israel has not allowed anything to enter Gaza since March 2, and, according to Times of Israel, officials in the Israeli army have begun warning the political echelon that Gaza is on the brink of starvation — something humanitarian organizations have been warning of since early on in the war, when Israel immediately announced it would enforce a tight blockade on the Strip.
Trump skipping Turkey and returning directly to Washington after tour
U.S. President Donald Trump says he will be returning to Washington after wrapping up his Gulf tour, confirming that he wouldn't be traveling to Turkey with his delegation of diplomats, who are meeting Russian and Ukrainian delegations for talks on a possible cease-fire, Reuters reports.
"Let's see what happens with Russia and Ukraine," Trump said, adding that he will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin "as soon as we can set it up."
These are the first peace talks between the two warring sides in more than three years as both Russia and Ukraine come under pressure from Trump to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II. The encounter at the Dolmabahce Palace on the Bosphorus is a sign of diplomatic progress between the warring sides, who had not met face-to-face since March 2022.
But expectations for a major breakthrough, already low, were dented further on Thursday when Trump said there would be no movement without a meeting between himself and Putin.
Israel says intercepted Houthi missile
The Israeli army announced it had intercepted a missile fire from Yemen yesterday, for which the Houthis later claimed responsibility, AFP reports. Air raid sirens sounded in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
Last week, the U.S. and the Houthis signed a cease-fire agreement that brought an end to 52 days of heavy U.S. strikes on Yemen, which killed more than 120 people. In return, the Houthis agreed to stop targeting U.S.-flagged ships in the Red Sea — part of its campaign in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. The deal does not include Israeli ships or Israeli territory.
Reuters recently reported that the deal, brokered by Oman, came to be after Houthis reached out to U.S. allies in the region, seeking a way out from under U.S. fire. The Houthis weren't the only ones feeling pressure. The operation had also been costly to the United States, which burned through munitions and lost two aircraft and multiple drones.
Trump wraps up Gulf tour with $1.4 million deal with UAE
U.S. President Donald Trump pledged to strengthen U.S. ties to the United Arab Emirates when he arrived there yesterday and announced deals with the Gulf state totalling over $200 billion, Reuters reports, including a pledge to invest $1.4 million dollars over 10 years in the U.S., with a specific focus on deepened cooperation in artificial intelligence.
After Trump's meeting with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the White House said he announced deals that included a $14.5 billion commitment from Etihad Airways to invest in 28 Boeing aircraft. Trump later announced the two countries had agreed to create a path for the UAE to buy some of the most advanced artificial intelligence semiconductors from U.S. companies.
The U.S. Commerce Department said the two countries also agreed to establish a "US-UAE AI Acceleration Partnership" framework and Nahyan attended the unveiling of a new five-gigawatt AI campus, which would be the largest outside the United States.
Sources have said the agreements will give the Gulf country expanded access to advanced artificial intelligence chips from the U.S. after previously facing restrictions over Washington's concerns that China could access the technology.
Good morning! Welcome to today's live coverage of events in the region. Donald Trump is on the last leg of his tour of the Gulf, after which he will be returning to the U.S. with a long list of million, billion, and even trillion-dollar deals, having — notably — not visited Israel.
Meanwhile, a Hamas commander has confirmed that the group is holding direct talks with the U.S. about a cease-fire in Gaza, which Israel is bombing with increased intensity. The U.S. and Iran are continuing their nuclear negotiations, with optimism coming from both sides, and in Turkey, delegations from the U.S., Russia and Turkey will be holding talks on a potential Russia-Ukraine cease-fire.
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