Israel imposes closures across a West Bank city after attacks, and other
Mideast news
[October 24, 2026]
Israel imposed widespread closures and displaced residents in the West
Bank city of Hebron on Saturday following attacks by Palestinian gunmen
that killed two soldiers.
Meanwhile, an airstrike killed four people in Yemen, and a senior
Iranian military commander said his country will not allow U.S. warships
to enter the Persian Gulf. The comments come as attacks have increased
in the Strait of Hormuz, raising fears of a return to all-out war.
Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Saturday. Read our full
coverage here.
Israel imposes closures across Hebron
Taxis piled up behind gates controlled by Israel's military outside
Hebron, waiting for Palestinians who are forced to cross on foot. All
gates leading in and out of the city were closed to vehicles, according
to Basma Radio, a Telegram channel Palestinians use to monitor
checkpoints and road closures.
Palestinian news outlet WAFA said Saturday that Israeli troops forced
dozens of residents to evacuate their homes and closed all entrances and
roads leading into Hebron.
Up to 300 families left Deir Baha, a residential area on one of the
city’s hillsides and the two adjacent neighborhoods, according to a
Saturday morning tally from Hebron’s municipality. Associated Press
reporters saw Israeli flags draped over a home seized for military use
in Deir Baha after the army ordered the evacuation.
Israel's army didn't respond to questions about the operation. On
Friday, it said that in response to the killing of two soldiers and
wounding of others, its forces had begun “conducting precise, targeted
and thorough searches” in the area of Hebron from which the two gunmen
had operated.
Reem Al Jiyawi waited behind a closed gate, trying to take her
11-year-old daughter to a cancer-related doctor’s appointment at a
hospital in Dura. Unable to drive directly from her village west of
Hebron, the daughter was dropped off at the gate so she could cross on
foot and take a shared taxi on the other side.
Death toll from church attack in Jordan rises to 8
An eighth person has died after gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a
church in Jordan, the health minister said Saturday.
Ibrahim Badour told Al-Mamlaka TV that more than two dozen people were
still receiving treatment in Jordanian hospitals, with one person in
critical condition.
His comments come one day after gunmen opened fire at a Greek Orthodox
church in Karak, south of Jordan's capital, Amman.
Footage broadcast on Jordanian state television Saturday showed a crowd
fleeing in panic from what appeared to be two gunmen at the church that
came under fire. Some people fell to the ground as they scrambled to
escape, while the apparent gunmen moved back and forth through the
scene. A person lay motionless on the ground as others rushed past him.
Karak is home to a minority Christian population. In 2016, gunmen
ambushed police in a series of attacks in Karak, including at a Crusader
castle popular with tourists, killing 10 people, including seven
officers, and wounding dozens. Jordanian security forces killed the
gunmen after a long standoff.
Airstrike kills 4 people in Yemen, including women and children
An airstrike in Yemen killed four people from the same family, including
women and children, the Iranian-backed Houthi health authorities said on
Saturday.
The strike late Friday night hit a house in the town of Hiba near the
city of Taiz, a hotbed of violence in the country’s revived civil war.
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Palestinians cross on foot past a military gate closed to vehicles
during an Israeli army operation in Hebron in the occupied West Bank
Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, a day after a Palestinian shooting attack
in the area. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
A separate strike early Saturday hit a shelter for African migrants
in the northern city of Saada, injuring seven people, Anees al-Asbahi,
the Health Ministry’s spokesperson, said in a statement. He blamed
Saudi Arabia for both strikes, which came amid a major escalation of
fighting between the kingdom and the Iranian-backed rebels.
Saudi Arabia did not respond to a request for comment.
The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis said it intercepted and
destroyed three ballistic missiles fired by the Houthis early
Saturday toward the Saudi capital, Riyadh, and Taif and Yanbu
cities. It also said it destroyed a drone over the country’s eastern
region.
The UAE closes beaches after oil spill from tanker
The United Arab Emirates has closed beaches and warned fishermen to
avoid parts of its Gulf shores after an oil spill from a tanker.
The spill impacted the beaches of Umm Al Quwain, one of the seven
emirates making up the federation, and cleanup efforts were
underway, the Climate Change and Environment Ministry said. Images
obtained by AP showed oil washing up along the beach in Umm Al
Quwain.
The ministry said the spill poses no health risks but did not
provide details about the scale of the leak.
The spill came two weeks after Iran’s state-run broadcaster reported
an oil tanker had struck a naval mine and caught fire while
attempting to transit through the Strait of Hormuz without
coordinating with Iran.
Iran says it will not allow US warships to enter Persian Gulf
A senior Iranian military commander said Saturday that Iran will not
allow U.S. warships to enter the Persian Gulf, according to the
state-run IRNA news agency.
Gen. Ali Abdollahi, chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces and
commander of its joint military command, said U.S. naval forces were
no longer able to approach waters around the Gulf or Iran’s
territorial waters.
He also warned U.S. President Donald Trump that U.S. forces would
never return to the waterway and criticized Trump’s claims that U.S.
strikes had destroyed Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Israeli strikes kill 1 in Gaza
Israeli strikes Saturday killed at least one person in Gaza City and
injured others, health officials at Shifa Hospital said.
Israel's army didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
More than 1,500 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by the Israeli
military since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began in
October 2025, according to the territory’s health ministry.
The ministry maintains detailed records and is regarded as generally
reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. Part of the
Hamas-run government, the ministry does not distinguish between
civilians and militants but says women and children make up nearly
half of those killed.
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