Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that Israel had prevented a "major attack" after soldiers killed two armed Palestinian assailants in a firefight that left five wounded near the West Bank city of Hebron.

"I commend our heroic fighters, who acted resolutely and prevented a major terrorist attack, and wish our wounded a speedy recovery," Netanyahu said in a statement.

Kiryat Shmona has long been a bastion of support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party. But that loyalty is no longer ironclad.

Once a bustling commercial center, Israel's northernmost city was temporarily evacuated three years ago after being battered by rockets from nearby Lebanon, and it still feels half-empty even though the attacks have mostly subsided. Although the town remains staunchly conservative, there are rumblings of displeasure with Netanyahu's handling of the latest war against Hezbollah, and that could bode poorly for him in Israel's election Tuesday.

The Israeli military said two soldiers were killed in Friday's attack by Palestinian gunmen in the occupied West Bank, which also left three other soldiers lightly injured.

The military said Staff Sergeant Ron Yonatan Roytman, 23, and Sergeant Yuval Shai Svilem, 20, both "fell in combat in the Judea Junction", a checkpoint near the city of Hebron in the southern West Bank.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that he would inform U.S. President Donald Trump of what Israel intends to do, but will not ask him for a green light to strike Iran.

Netanyahu added that he had issued a directive stating that "the only acceptable solution is the overthrow of the fanatical regime in Iran."

Saudi Arabia on Thursday said it downed drones in the areas of Riyadh and the holy city of Medina, as Yemen's Houthis carry out daily attacks on the kingdom.

"Interception and destruction of four drones in the regions of Riyadh and Medina," said Turki Al-Malki in a post on X, the spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Iran-backed group.

Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty on Thursday said all options must be explored to find a political solution between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis.

At a press conference where he reiterated solidarity with Saudi Arabia, he stressed "the necessity of exploring all avenues for reaching political solutions".

Top European diplomats will hold talks in Istanbul Friday with their counterparts from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt, a meeting initiated by Ankara, a Turkish foreign ministry source said.

Foreign ministers from the so-called E3 group -- Britain, France and Germany -- will meet counterparts from the newly created R4 group to discuss the Palestinian issue, developments in Yemen and the Hormuz Strait, and ways to end the Russia-Ukraine war, the source said.

A civilian with special needs was killed during an Israeli forces raid Thursday on the village of Jamla in southern Syria’s Daraa province, Syrian state news agency SANA reported.

It did not give more details about how the disabled man was killed. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Yemen’s Defense Ministry said Thursday that Houthi rallies and mobilization programs will be considered legitimate military targets and warned residents in Houthi-held areas against taking part.

The announcement was shared in a social media post and is considered a major escalation against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels as well as civilians living in areas under their control.

Iran’s state television reported that seven oil tankers caught fire and were damaged overnight Thursday after being targeted or striking naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

If verified, it would be the largest single-day number of vessels damaged in the waterway since the start of the Iran war on Feb. 28 when the United States and Israel launched joint strikes against Iran.