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.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Thursday threatened to strike American bases across the Middle East if the U.S. military continues to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

"The U.S. military must know that if this trend continues, the conflict will extend to its bases in the region," the Guards, the ideological arm of Iran's military, said in a statement on their Sepah News website.

An attack targeting the King Fahd International Airport in eastern Saudi Arabia's Dammam killed a Saudi citizen and an Indian national and injured eight others Wednesday evening, the kingdom's civil aviation authority said.

The authority said in a statement that injuries from the attack ranged from "minor to serious" and that material damage to the airport was also being assessed.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Wednesday that any interference in the Yemen war by Egypt or any other country would make the situation "more difficult".

French President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that he had secured gas from Qatar during his Gulf tour, as he seeks to bring down the price of energy following violent protests sparked by rising living costs.

A ship was struck on Wednesday by an "unknown projectile" off the coast of Oman, near the Strait of Hormuz, sparking a fire, a British maritime security agency said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's main rival in October 27 elections, ex-army chief Gadi Eisenkot, said on Wednesday that he would refuse to serve as a minister in a new government led by the current premier.