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Israeli military kills 4 Palestinians after settler killed in West Bank

The Israeli military shot and killed four Palestinians in the village of Tell in the northern West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Friday, raising tensions in the occupied territory after an Israeli settler was killed in a confrontation with local residents.

Two other Israelis and four more Palestinians were wounded, health officials said, and the Israeli military announced it was preparing for an "extensive" counterterror operation in the West Bank.

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US strikes Iran as clashes over shipping routes escalate

Bahrain activated its sirens early Friday, warning residents to shelter from detected fire hours after the U.S. military said it had wrapped up its 13th night of strikes against Iran.

The Gulf states have come under frequent fire over the past week as the U.S. and Iran exchange escalating strikes in fighting that began with a struggle over control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Iranian state media reported that four people had been killed and nine injured in the bombardment.

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Japanese militant who took part in a 1972 Tel Aviv airport attack, dies in Beirut

Kozo Okamoto, the Japanese militant who took part in a deadly attack on Tel Aviv's airport more than five decades ago, died Thursday in Beirut, the Palestinian group that had been protecting him said. He was 78.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a faction that is the second-largest group in the Palestine Liberation Organization, said that Okamoto had been ill for a long time.

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Israeli far-right minister leads hundreds to Al-Aqsa on Jewish mourning day

Israeli far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir led hundreds of Israeli Jews into Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound on Thursday, breaching the site's decades-old status quo as he marked a Jewish day of mourning.

The visit coincided with Tisha B'Av, the Jewish fasting day commemorating the destruction of the First and Second Temples, which is being observed from Wednesday night through Thursday this year.

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Trump threatens Houthis with 'major military punishment'

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened Yemen's Houthi rebels with "major military punishment" after they launched missile and drone strikes on oil tankers in the Red Sea.

"The U.S. will hold Iran responsible, in that the Houthis are a Surrogate and/or Proxy of Iran, and major military punishment will be inflicted upon Iran and, of course, the Houthis themselves" should the rebels launch further attacks, Trump said on his Truth Social network.

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Trump says Saudi nuclear deal contingent on recognizing Israel

President Donald Trump on Thursday said an agreement being reached with Saudi Arabia for a civilian nuclear program requires the kingdom to normalize relations with Israel through the Abraham Accords.

In a post on social media, the Republican president said the deal doesn’t allow for enrichment of uranium.

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New threat by Houthis could widen Iran war, put another trade chokepoint at risk

The Houthi rebels' threat to blockade Saudi Arabia has the potential to widen the Iran war and further disrupt global oil supplies and international trade.

The Iran-backed rebels say they have closed the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to Saudi-linked shipping in retaliation for the kingdom's blockade on Yemen and a recent attack on the international airport in Yemen's rebel-held capital, Sanaa. The Houthis said on Thursday they had attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, causing fires to break out on both.

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Jordan, Kuwait say intercepted Iranian attacks

The Jordanian and Kuwaiti militaries reported intercepting fresh salvos of Iranian missiles and drones on Thursday.

Jordan said it had intercepted Iranian missiles and drones, as Tehran responded to U.S. airstrikes by hitting Washington's allies in the region.

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US, Saudi Arabia sign new agreement paving way for kingdom to enrich uranium

The U.S. and Saudi Arabia have forged a new agreement that could potentially provide the kingdom with uranium enrichment capability for its civilian nuclear program.

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Minister of Energy Abdulaziz bin Salman formally signed the nuclear cooperation agreement, known as a "123 agreement," alongside what the Trump administration described as a "bilateral safeguards agreement."

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Houthis attack 2 Saudi oil tankers in Red Sea as US carries out 12th night of strikes

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels said early Thursday they had attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, and the U.S. military conducted a 12th night of strikes against Iran as the two countries vie for control of vital shipping lanes.

The Houthi attack in the Red Sea threatened to open a new front in a war that has roiled the global economy, sending prices for fuel and other goods surging across the world. With the standoff in the Gulf deepening, there were no signs of progress in diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.

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