Lebanon ’s Health Ministry says Israeli airstrikes on a southern Lebanese village have killed nine people.
Meanwhile, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels claim to have shot down a Saudi reconnaissance plane, and a senior UAE official says “no single state” should control the Strait of Hormuz.
Here’s a look at the latest news in the Middle East. Full coverage can be found here.
Israel’s air forces carried out two airstrikes early Monday on a southern Lebanese
village, killing at least nine people, including women and children, the Health Ministry said.
The strikes came amid a new round of escalation between Israel and Hezbollah.
The ministry said one of the strikes hit a building and killed eight people, including a child and two women. It added that 11 people were also wounded, including four children and two women.
The ministry added that another strike on a car in the village killed a paramedic with the Lebanese Islamic Risala Scout Association and wounded two others.
Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed early Monday to have downed a Saudi armed reconnaissance aircraft in the northern part of the country as the escalation with the Yemeni government forces continues.
Houthi military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said in a statement that their forces shot down the aircraft detected in Jawf province’s airspace. He said the aircraft belonged to Saudi Arabia and was seeking to carry out “hostile actions.” The Associated Press couldn’t independently verify that claim.
Saree added that over the past 24 hours, a total of three reconnaissance drones belonging to Saudi Arabia were downed, including one that was spotted Monday morning in Bayda province.
A senior official from the United Arab Emirates says “no single state” should control the Strait of Hormuz, after Iran said it plans to announce a new “exclusion zone” in the international waterway.
“Our energy exports will not be held hostage, nor will our trade and economic activity,” Anwar Gargash, a diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, said at a forum of world leaders in Abu Dhabi.
Gargash said Iran should face consequences for threatening oil tankers and commercial vessels with mines, drones, or missiles. “Using an international waterway as an instrument of coercion is unacceptable,” he added.
The UAE, a close American ally, has repeatedly come under Iranian missile and drone fire throughout the war. Rebuilding trust between Iran and the Gulf countries could take decades, Gargash warned, because by targeting its neighbors Tehran had “demolished” any presumption of good faith.
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This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.
