Region
Middle East
- Follow-up: Israel's vote count shows deadlock between the two blocs as Netanyahu and Eisenkot both claim the right to form a government
Israel held parliamentary elections on Tuesday, Oct 27, and counting continued on Wednesday. Reuters reported that exit polls by Kan 11 and Channel 13 gave each bloc 51 seats, while Channel 12 showed Netanyahu's bloc narrowly ahead by 52 to 49, all short of the 61 needed for a majority in the 120-seat Knesset. Netanyahu called for a 'strong right-wing national government' and said a government with Arab parties would be 'shameful', while Yashar party leader and former military chief of staff Eisenkot said voters had rejected Netanyahu and told him to quit politics. The Central Elections Committee put turnout at 77.7%, the highest since 1999, with about 5.7 million of some 7.3 million eligible voters casting ballots. On prediction market Polymarket, the implied chance of Netanyahu being the next prime minister rose from 26% to 46% in a day.
Oct 28, 2026 Afternoon - Houthis say missile hit Saudi Arabia's largest refinery; Brent crude rises 1.3% in Asian trade
Yemen's Houthis said on Tuesday, Oct 27, that they had hit Saudi Arabia's largest oil refinery, which processes 550,000 barrels a day, with a missile; Saudi authorities did not immediately confirm it. The claim revived market concerns about Middle East supply, and as of 01:40 GMT on Wednesday (09:40 Hong Kong time), Brent crude futures were up US$1.48, or 1.3%, at US$115.36 a barrel, while US WTI crude was up US$1.22 at US$101.12. Oil prices had fallen nearly US$2 on Tuesday on hopes of easing tensions from diplomatic contacts in the Middle East. Reuters reported that OPEC+ is expected to keep its December output targets unchanged when it meets on Sunday.
Oct 28, 2026 Afternoon - Follow-up: Israel election exit polls show no clear winner; anti-Netanyahu bloc leads with 52 seats, Likud stays largest party
Israel held parliamentary elections on Tuesday, Oct 27, with polls closing at 10pm local time. A Channel 12 exit poll projected 52 seats for the bloc of Jewish parties opposed to Netanyahu and 50 for Netanyahu's bloc, both short of the 61 needed for a majority in the 120-seat Knesset. Netanyahu's Likud was projected to win 24 seats and remain the largest party, while the Yashar party led by former military chief of staff Eisenkot was projected to win 22. Arab parties were projected to win 17-18 seats combined, up from 10 in the 2022 election. Turnout was 74.3% as of 8pm, against 70.63% in 2022; preliminary results are due on Wednesday and official results on Nov 4.
Oct 28, 2026 Morning - IMO chief says about 400 ships still stranded in Strait of Hormuz; Qatar urges Iran to reopen the strait
International Maritime Organization Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said in Busan, South Korea, on Monday that about 400 ships carrying some 5,000 seafarers remain in the Strait of Hormuz, including two South Korean vessels, one of them the cargo ship HMM Namu, which was hit on May 4 during the Iran war, with 17 Korean seafarers stranded in all. He said the fundamental differences between the US and Iran must be resolved before the ships and crews can leave. A spokesperson for Qatar's foreign ministry, a mediator, said on Tuesday that Iran should stop threatening Gulf Arab states and open the strait to show good intentions. Iranian President Pezeshkian and Qatar's Emir Tamim met in Moscow on Tuesday on the sidelines of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum.
Oct 28, 2026 Morning - Follow-up: Jordan strikes Syria's Daraa in retaliation for Karak church attack; Damascus says 8 civilians killed and shuts border crossing
An attack on a funeral at an Orthodox church in a village in Jordan's Karak governorate on Friday, Oct 23, killed 9 people and injured dozens. Jordanian jets struck southern Syria late on Monday, Oct 26, saying they hit 'terrorist hideouts' and that the operation was coordinated with Damascus, which Syria denied. Syria said 8 civilians were killed, including women and 3 children, while Al Jazeera reported at least 7 deaths; Syria closed the Nasib crossing with Jordan to all passenger and cargo traffic and opened an investigation.
Oct 27, 2026 Afternoon - Hezbollah rearming with tens of millions of dollars from Iran for possible new war, sources say
Arab News, citing Lebanese security officials who were briefed, reported that Hezbollah has spent three months preparing for a possible resumption of hostilities after receiving tens of millions of dollars from Iran to rearm, focusing on buying explosives and producing drones to attack Israeli positions. Founded in 1982 by Iran's Revolutionary Guards, the group has been badly weakened in two wars since 2024, losing thousands of fighters, several leaders and most of its arsenal. Israeli forces occupy villages in its southern heartland and Beirut faces growing pressure to disarm it, but it has used the lull in fighting since June to rearm.
Oct 27, 2026 Afternoon - Follow-up: Israel votes in first election since Oct 7 attacks as Netanyahu touts Trump endorsement; reported clash with army chief over Iran order
Israel holds parliamentary elections on Tuesday, Oct 27, its first since the attacks of Oct 7, 2023, with tens of thousands of expatriates returning to vote. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on television on Oct 25 that Trump 'still has two years in office' and urged voters to back him, while Trump posted the same day 'vote for Bibi' and 'we must finish the job we started'; the two launched a war on Iran together in February. Israel's Channel 12 reported that Netanyahu and the chief of the general staff recently clashed over a military order that could immediately trigger conflict with Iran, with the chief demanding it in writing; Netanyahu denied the report.
Oct 27, 2026 Morning - Follow-up: Saudi defence minister meets Iran's president in Tehran; Egypt's parliament authorises military support for Saudi Arabia
Countries with defence agreements with Saudi Arabia held security talks with Iran in Tehran on Monday, Oct 26. CNBC reported that Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid met Iran's president and the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, and the parties issued a press statement saying talks on regional peace and security will continue. Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis said the same day they had fired another missile at Riyadh's international airport. Brent crude futures settled at US$115.81 a barrel, up about 12% this month, and Egypt's parliament voted by a two-thirds majority to authorise President Sisi to take necessary measures to support Saudi Arabia.
Oct 27, 2026 Morning - Follow-up: Eisenkot holds final rally on eve of Israel's election as tens of thousands of expats fly home and Likud trails in polls
Israel holds its first parliamentary election since the Oct 7, 2023 attack on Tuesday, Oct 27. Former military chief of staff Eisenkot held his final rally on Sunday, stressing accountability for the war and social unity, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's camp kept the Iranian threat at the centre of its campaign and painted his rival as soft on Iran. Several polls show Likud trailing, tens of thousands of Israeli expats flew home to vote, and the military had announced it would close land crossings in the West Bank during the election.
Oct 26, 2026 Afternoon - Houthis claim new attack on Riyadh airport hours after flights resume; Saudi-led coalition says it intercepted missile
Yemen's Houthis said they launched another attack on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport within hours of flights resuming, and the Saudi-led coalition then said it intercepted a ballistic missile. The airport had earlier been disrupted by explosions and 'hostile aerial threat' warnings before Saudi Arabia reopened it to passenger traffic. The Houthis also claimed strikes on pipelines and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, raising market concerns about oil price swings.
Oct 26, 2026 Afternoon - Follow-up: Gunmen kill 9 at church funeral in Jordan's Karak; Singapore's president and prime minister send condolences
Gunmen opened fire on a funeral procession at St George Orthodox Church in a village in Karak governorate, southern Jordan, on Friday, Oct 23, killing at least 9 people and injuring about 40, in what authorities called a terrorist attack by extremists. King Abdullah II vowed the 'harshest retaliation', the prime minister declared 3 days of national mourning, and security services said on Oct 26 that 3 suspects had been arrested. On the same day Singapore's president and prime minister wrote to Jordan's king and prime minister condemning the deliberate attack on civilians at a place of worship.
Oct 26, 2026 Afternoon - Follow-up: Netanyahu posts AI image of nuclear blast over Tel Aviv before Tuesday's election, warning of a 'second Holocaust'
Israel's military said on Sunday, Oct 25, it will close all land crossings in the West Bank during the Oct 27 parliamentary election and bar Palestinian workers from settlements from that day, after two Israeli soldiers were killed in an attack at a checkpoint. On the eve of the vote, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted an AI image of a nuclear bomb exploding over Tel Aviv, warning of a 'second Holocaust' if he is not elected, while billionaire Trump donor Bill Ackman said far-right ministers Ben-Gvir and Smotrich should not be in the next government. Al Jazeera reported that two Israeli air strikes on students and guards at the Islamic University in Gaza City killed 3 people and injured at least 7.
Oct 26, 2026 Morning - Follow-up: Trump says US could strike Iran as soon as Sunday or reach a major deal; Iranian president says US wrecked interim-agreement talks
US Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton's Friday, Oct 23, memo said Iranian plots against US personnel had reached a 'late stage', and US embassies across the Middle East raised their alert level. Trump said on Saturday, Oct 24, that the US was considering an attack on Iran as soon as Sunday, that it might have to 'finish the job', or that a major deal with Tehran might be reached. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian blamed the US for collapsing interim-agreement talks, calling the US side 'cowards' who had 'messed everything up', while still arguing Tehran should push for a deal. An Iranian official told AP on Oct 24 that Tehran remained willing to negotiate with the US under the earlier framework. The same day a Saudi-led coalition said it had destroyed two ballistic missiles fired by Houthis towards Taif and Yanbu. The US this week ordered non-essential government employees to leave Saudi Arabia. The war is in its eighth month.
Oct 25, 2026 Afternoon - Follow-up: Thousands rally in Tel Aviv against Netanyahu before Israeli election; army to seal West Bank on Tuesday voting day
After two Palestinian gunmen killed two Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint near Hebron on Friday, Oct 23, Israel launched a large operation in Hebron. Israel's defence minister confirmed that about 2,000 Palestinians were forced from their homes there; the BBC reported bulldozers flattened at least an entire street and the city of some 200,000 people was locked down. The Israeli military said on Sunday, Oct 25, that with political approval, on Tuesday, Oct 27 — election day — Palestinian workers would be barred from entering or leaving the West Bank and Jordan Valley, including industrial zones, and all land crossings would close. Separately, thousands of Israelis rallied in Tel Aviv against Netanyahu, calling for a change of government and an independent inquiry into security failures in the Oct 7 attack.
Oct 25, 2026 Afternoon - Follow-up: Death toll in Jordan church funeral shooting rises to 9 with 40 injured; King Abdullah orders 'iron fist' response
Gunmen opened fire on a funeral at St George's Orthodox Church in Hamoud, Karak governorate, Jordan, on Friday, Oct 23; the death toll has risen to nine and Jordan's health minister said 40 were injured. Church CCTV showed three people firing at the church from behind trees and a low wall. King Abdullah chaired a national security council meeting on Oct 24, called it a 'cowardly terrorist act' and ordered security forces to respond with an 'iron fist'; the interior minister called the attackers 'extremists', and no one has claimed responsibility.
Oct 25, 2026 Morning - Yemen's Houthis claim attacks on Riyadh and Dammam airports and Saudi oil facilities; Houthis say 11 killed in strikes on Sanaa
A Houthi military spokesman said on Oct 24 that the group attacked King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, an airport in Najran and Khamis Mushait air base, as well as Saudi Aramco facilities in Yanbu, the Rabigh refinery, crude pumping stations and the East-West pipeline. Saudi Arabia did not directly respond; the Saudi-led coalition said it had dealt with debris falling near oil facilities and intercepted two missiles, with debris falling in the Mecca and Medina regions. Houthi media said air strikes on Sanaa hit a cement factory workers' dormitory, killing 11 people, including six women and a child.
Oct 25, 2026 Morning - US intelligence chief Jay Clayton warns Iranian plots against Americans are at a 'late stage'; US cuts staff at 4 Middle East embassies
US Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton said in an unclassified memo to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, copied to CIA Director Ratcliffe, that Iran had increased efforts to target US personnel and that attack plots in the Middle East and some other countries had reached a 'late stage'. Argentina's Clarín reported that the US then reduced staff at four embassies in the Middle East. US ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz told the Financial Times the war with Iran could last another year.
Oct 24, 2026 Afternoon - Two Israeli soldiers killed in Hebron shooting; Netanyahu orders lockdown of Hebron as raids hit at least 15 West Bank towns
A shooting in Hebron in the occupied West Bank killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded three; Netanyahu ordered Hebron and neighbouring Halhul locked down, and the Israeli military said the operation would last 'several days'. Al Jazeera said Israeli forces also raided at least 15 towns in the northern West Bank, including Nablus, Jenin, Tubas and Qalqilya, detaining dozens of Palestinians. The Guardian reported that a three-storey building was demolished with residents given five minutes to leave, after which Israel's Supreme Court issued an interim order halting demolitions.
Oct 24, 2026 Afternoon - Gunmen open fire on church funeral in Jordan's Karak governorate, killing 7 and wounding 34
Gunmen opened fire on a funeral at an Orthodox church in Hmoud, Karak governorate, on Friday, Oct 23; officials said seven people were killed and at least 34 wounded, after a government spokesman briefly revised the death toll to six and then back to seven. Karak lies about 180 km south of Amman and has a minority Christian community; CCTV footage verified by the BBC showed three armed men walking from a road towards the church, and AP said one carried a semi-automatic rifle. Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya blamed 'a group of extremists' who are being hunted, King Abdullah II vowed the 'harshest' punishment, and no group had claimed responsibility.
Oct 24, 2026 Morning - US envoy Tom Barrack says strike on Iran 'absolutely possible' this weekend; Brent crude tops $117, a six-month high
US ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack told Israeli Army Radio on Oct 23 that a US attack as early as this weekend was 'absolutely possible'; Trump said he knew 'nothing' about it and had earlier said he would not act before the Nov 3 midterm elections. Iran said that if the US and Israel launched a new offensive it would hit oil facilities, undersea cables, data centres and AI facilities in the Gulf. Brent crude rose as much as about 3.5% on Friday to above $117 a barrel, its highest since April, compared with about $72 in February before the war, while foreign ministers of eight countries including Britain, France, Germany and Turkey urged 'maximum restraint' after meeting in Istanbul.
Oct 24, 2026 Morning - Follow-up: Houthi attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, Saudi Arabia kills two and injures eight; drone debris at Shaybah oil field kills two more
Saudi Arabia's civil aviation authority said an attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam on the evening of Oct 22 killed a Saudi citizen and an Indian resident and injured eight people; the airport has resumed operations. The energy ministry said a drone aimed at an Aramco processing facility in the Shaybah oil field was intercepted earlier that day and its debris killed a Filipino and a Nepali resident. The Houthis said they had also struck targets in Riyadh, an Aramco facility in Yanbu and Abha airport within 48 hours; Saudi authorities say Houthi attacks on Saudi airports have killed at least 21 people since early October.
Oct 23, 2026 Afternoon - Iran's Revolutionary Guards say seven ships hit or struck mines near the Strait of Hormuz; Trump says Iran is making up attacks to drive up oil prices
Al Jazeera reported Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Oct 22 that four oil-carrying ships were attacked and set ablaze in the northern Persian Gulf and three more lost power after hitting mines west of the Strait of Hormuz, the most in a single day on the waterway since the US and Israel went to war with Iran on Feb 28; the claims were not independently verified. The IRGC warned the conflict would extend to US bases in the region if the US kept helping tankers through the strait, while Trump said on Truth Social Iran was making up the attacks and mines to push up oil prices before the midterm elections. CNBC said Brent crude futures rose 4% to settle at $113.17 a barrel, the highest since May 4, and CBS said US Central Command marked 100 days of the renewed blockade of Iranian ports, which it said had stopped about $25 billion of Iranian crude exports.
Oct 23, 2026 Morning - Follow-up: Saudi Aramco tells staff to evacuate Dhahran headquarters and work remotely, sources say; Saudi index falls 2.5%
Al-Monitor, citing Reuters and six people familiar with the matter, reported that Saudi Aramco told employees on Oct 22 to evacuate its headquarters in Dhahran on the Gulf coast and work remotely, which would be the first such evacuation since the Iran war began; the company did not respond and the reason was unclear. The Houthis have repeatedly attacked Saudi Arabia, including Aramco facilities and airports, with King Fahd International Airport in Dammam hit on Oct 21, and a Houthi spokesman said the group had attacked an Aramco facility in Yanbu. LSEG data showed the benchmark TASI index fell 2.5% on Thursday after the news.
Oct 23, 2026 Morning - Follow-up: Attack on Saudi Arabia's King Fahd airport kills 1, injures 8; two Eastern Province attacks leave 3 dead
Al Jazeera reported Saudi Arabia's civil aviation authority said on Oct 21 that King Fahd International Airport in Dammam was attacked, killing one person and injuring eight. The energy ministry said air defences intercepted a drone targeting an Aramco processing facility at the Shaybah field the same day; falling debris killed a Filipino and a Nepali, injured a Pakistani and an Indian and set a contractor's vehicle alight, with oil operations unaffected, and NHK put the day's toll at three. Al Jazeera noted an Oct 10 attack on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport killed 12 and injured over 300, amid escalating conflict between the Houthis and Yemen's Saudi-backed government.
Oct 22, 2026 Afternoon - Türkiye, Qatar, Pakistan and Indonesia sign defence cooperation memorandum in Doha
CNA, citing Türkiye's defence ministry, reported the four countries signed the 'Badr Memorandum' in Doha on Oct 21, covering defence industrial production, military capability, technical military training and joint research and development, and drawing on their defence industries to meet the needs of allies and friendly countries. Türkiye has NATO's second-largest army and a base in Qatar, and in August signed a mutual defence pact with nuclear-armed Pakistan and Saudi Arabia under which an attack on one is an attack on all.
Oct 22, 2026 Afternoon - US orders non-emergency diplomats and families out of Saudi Arabia; Saudi says drone debris killed 2
Reuters, carried by Al-Monitor, reported that a US State Department spokesperson announced on X on Oct 21 the ordered departure of non-emergency staff and their families from US diplomatic posts in Saudi Arabia, stressing it applied 'only to Saudi Arabia', and said Iran-backed Houthis keep attacking Saudi civilian airports and other critical infrastructure, causing civilian casualties. US officials said the State Department is also planning to move family members out of several other missions in the Gulf. CBS said Saudi Arabia's energy ministry reported that debris from a drone intercepted on Wednesday while attacking an oil facility killed two people and injured two.
Oct 22, 2026 Morning - Netanyahu says toppling Iran's government is the 'only way'; Iran says indirect ceasefire talks with US continue
CNA reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a campaign rally in the southern city of Dimona on Oct 21 that there is 'only one way' to end the Iranian threat, 'toppling this regime', and said he had instructed the military, Mossad and all security services accordingly, without saying when or how. CBS said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the same day that indirect talks continue on the 7-day ceasefire proposal Trump initially rejected last month, with the US seeking new terms; a senior Revolutionary Guards official threatened to target US 'investments' such as undersea internet cables in the Strait of Hormuz if the US struck Iranian infrastructure again. UK Maritime Trade Operations said a tanker was hit by an unknown projectile and caught fire about 11 nautical miles off Bukha, Oman, on Wednesday; all crew were safe.
Oct 22, 2026 Morning - Iran security chief says not 'a grain' of enriched uranium will leave; Rubio calls a deal with Tehran 'extremely difficult'
IRNA reported that Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, told Pakistani mediator and army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir on the evening of Oct 20 that not 'a grain' of Iran's enriched uranium would leave the country. Al Jazeera reported US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told US media that a peace deal with Iran is 'extremely difficult' and that economic pressure would continue until Tehran stops targeting commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz; Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the strait would stay closed until Washington accepts Iran's conditions, with indirect talks still going through Pakistan and Qatar. Times of Israel reported Netanyahu the same day vowed to topple Iran's regime.
Oct 21, 2026 Afternoon - Death toll from Houthi missile strike on Yemen recruit camp in Shabwa rises to 73; UN says over 250,000 displaced
The Guardian reported that the death toll from Monday's Houthi strike with three ballistic missiles on al-Alam camp near Ataq in Shabwa province has risen to 73, all security force and police recruits. The UN refugee agency said on Oct 20 that more than 250,000 people were newly displaced in Yemen between early August and Oct 17, 76% of them from Taiz province; Taiz hosts 52% of them, Lahij 23% and Aden 13%, and more than 3,800 fled to Djibouti and over 240 to Somalia. The Houthis are tightening their siege of the government-held city of Taiz, and the UN has demanded humanitarian access.
Oct 21, 2026 Morning - UK deploys RAF Typhoon fighters to defend Saudi Arabia from Houthi missiles; Saudi says missile intercepted over Riyadh
The UK defence secretary announced on Oct 20 that RAF Typhoon jets will fly defensive counter-air missions over Saudi Arabia to intercept Houthi missiles and drones and protect Saudi cities and key infrastructure, without striking Houthi targets; the UK will also send military transport and advisers and extend an air-refuelling mission begun last month by 90 days. The Guardian called it the most significant military mission approved by the current prime minister; the number of aircraft was not disclosed. A Saudi-led coalition spokesman said a Houthi ballistic missile was intercepted over Riyadh on Oct 20, with reporters hearing two blasts; earlier this month a missile hit King Khalid International Airport, and Egypt's president has asked parliament to authorise sending troops to help defend Saudi Arabia.
Oct 21, 2026 Morning - Israeli police detain 10 settlers after attacks on US photojournalist and European diplomats
Israeli police detained about 10 people in a rare action against West Bank settlers after weekend violence. US photojournalist Heidi Levine said she was knocked down and kicked by masked men while covering the olive harvest near Ramallah on Friday, calling it almost a lynching; doctors said four vertebrae and a rib were fractured and a finger needed surgery. The next day settlers with sticks and iron bars attacked European diplomats and Palestinian olive pickers outside Taybeh, assaulting a French mayor and smashing an official car window. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the Levine attack 'alleged' and the diplomats' account 'unproven'; US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and ambassador Mike Huckabee were among those who criticised the violence.
Oct 20, 2026 Afternoon - US Defense Secretary Hegseth holds unannounced meeting with Netanyahu; Vance declines endorsement
Axios, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made an unannounced visit to Israel on Monday and met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of Israel's parliamentary election; the Pentagon and Israel's embassy in Washington declined to comment, and Reuters could not immediately verify. President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday that Netanyahu was a 'great warrior prime minister' and gave his 'complete and total endorsement'; Vice President JD Vance said the same day he endorses only American candidates and is 'not anti-endorsing' and 'not pro-endorsing' Netanyahu. Polls suggest Netanyahu's religious-nationalist coalition may lose its governing majority.
Oct 20, 2026 Afternoon - Houthi missile strike on al-Alam recruit camp in Yemen's Shabwa kills at least 53
Local authorities said Iran-backed Houthi forces fired three ballistic missiles at al-Alam camp near Ataq in Shabwa province, a training camp for security force and police recruits, killing at least 53 and injuring about 200. Rashad al-Alimi, head of Yemen's presidential leadership council, called it a 'criminal attack' and vowed a 'decisive response', while a Houthi military spokesman said the target was a gathering of 'Saudi enemy forces'; pro-government forces backed by Saudi-led coalition air power have retaken areas overlooking the Bab al-Mandab strait since early October. Reuters reported Saudi Arabia postponed its 10th 'Davos in the Desert' investment conference, set for Oct 26–29, to 2027 after a series of recent attacks.
Oct 20, 2026 Morning - WFP cuts Gaza food aid over funding shortfall, reaching 1.1 million instead of 1.6 million
The UN World Food Programme said funding has fallen by more than half from 2025, forcing it to cut Gaza assistance from October: monthly recipients drop from about 1.6 million to 1.1 million, more than 500,000 people lose aid, and community kitchens' daily hot meals fall from 250,000 to 150,000. Families in hard-to-reach areas such as near the 'Yellow Line' marking the Israeli military-controlled zone now get a meal every other day. Nearly all of Gaza's 2.1 million people remain displaced and two-thirds depend on food aid; WFP Palestine director Shaun Hughes said more than £300 million is needed over six months to restore and sustain key programmes.
Oct 20, 2026 Morning - Iran FM Araghchi warns US against further force; parliament approves new defence minister
RIA Novosti reported Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned the US on social media on Oct 19: 'Last time you wanted to "finish the job", Iran only grew stronger… we too have unfinished business', and said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was dragging the US into another war to escape prison. Trump said on Oct 13 he would soon decide next steps on Iran. Reuters reported Iran's parliament on Sunday approved Mehrdad Akhlaqi Ketabchi as defence minister, ending months of caretaker status after predecessor Nasirzadeh was killed in a US-Israeli airstrike in February; Akhlaqi has long worked in Iran's defence industry, including space and missile roles, and is sanctioned by the US and EU.
Oct 19, 2026 Afternoon - Follow-up: EU condemns settler attack on diplomats' convoy; Netanyahu unveils security platform before election
On Oct 17 Israeli settlers attacked a European diplomats' convoy in the West Bank and assaulted a visiting French mayor. The EU External Action Service on Oct 18 'strongly condemned' the attack, demanded accountability, effective measures against violence toward Palestinians (including during the olive harvest) and journalists, and an end to settlement expansion; the New York Times reported US officials also condemned West Bank attacks. About a week before the Oct 27 election, Netanyahu released his first national security platform in about a decade, favouring pre-emptive strikes and wider buffer zones; the opposition called it 'shallow'. An Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation poll on Oct 18 showed Netanyahu's bloc down two seats versus an opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot. The same day, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was forced off stage by protesters at a Tel Aviv university event.
Oct 19, 2026 Afternoon - Follow-up: GCC invokes joint defence for Saudi Arabia after Houthi attacks; Egypt agrees to help
Gulf Cooperation Council foreign ministers met in Manama, Bahrain, on Oct 18, condemned repeated Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and invoked their joint defence pact, saying an attack on any member affects all six. Egypt's National Defence Council, led by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, agreed the same day to support Saudi Arabia. The Saudi-led coalition said it shot down two drones near Riyadh and in the Eastern Province early on Oct 18; Saudi Arabia said Houthi attacks injured 6 people and two soldiers died in a helicopter crash.
Oct 19, 2026 Morning