Mansour Abbas has done nearly everything Israel asks of its Palestinian citizens.

The leader of a small Arab political party condemned Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack. He rarely speaks about the war in Gaza or Israel's occupation of the West Bank, instead focusing on local issues like crime. He broke a taboo in 2021 by bringing an Arab party into an Israeli government, in which he served as a loyal partner. This time around, the second-ranked member of his party list is a mainstream Jewish candidate.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian on Friday urged countries to condemn what he called "ecocide" in the Middle East caused by "wars of aggression".

Yemen's Houthis on Thursday fired missiles at the presidential palace in Aden, which also serves as the headquarters of the internationally recognized government, security sources told AFP, while a journalist saw smoke rising from the site.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that he had previously spoken with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa about violence towards the Druze community, in his first acknowledgement of direct contact.

A Saudi foreign ministry official on Thursday said the country reached out to Yemen's Houthis in recent weeks as fighting escalates between the two sides, but the group refused to meet in Oman.

A Saudi foreign ministry official on Thursday accused Iran of encouraging the Houthis in their ongoing fight with the kingdom, adding that Tehran continues to arm and train the group.

Israeli opposition politician Gadi Eisenkot, Prime Miniter Benjamin Netanyahu's main rival in upcoming elections, vowed Thursday to defeat Hamas in Gaza if he becomes prime minister following the October 27 vote.

Israel's army chief said that the military was reinforcing troop levels "across all fronts", citing an increased risk of escalation as Israel heads into elections this later month.

On a visit to the occupied West Bank, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said the potential for incidents on Israel's borders had grown because of the election period, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu facing a tight race to stay in power in the October 27 poll.

The United States is considering using its biggest non-nuclear bomb against Iran if President Donald Trump should decide to renew combat in the war that has hit a deadlock, CNN reported Thursday.

The military is planning for the potential use of the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) bomb -- better known by its nickname, the "Mother Of All Bombs" -- to target Iranian energy infrastructure and nuclear sites, according to the news outlet, which quoted officials familiar with the matter.

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis said on Wednesday they had targeted facilities belonging to Saudi oil giant Aramco as well as Riyadh airport, as they vowed to conduct more attacks.

"The Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a high-quality military operation targeting Aramco in Dhahran, in the Eastern Province, King Khalid International Airport, and the Aramco refinery in Riyadh. This was carried out using a large number of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones," military spokesperson Yahya Saree said, adding "operations toward Saudi depths will continue in the coming days, targeting Saudi enemy airports and oil facilities".