https://www.scmp.com/rss/322264/feed The latest news, politics and current affairs from the Middle East. en https://assets-v2.i-scmp.com/production/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The United States has withdrawn military aircraft from a second British airbase following a threat from Iran, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported, citing people familiar with events. A number of American refuelling tankers were evacuated on Monday from Mildenhall Royal Air Force (RAF) base in eastern England after the purported threat, the newspaper said. Sky News said on Tuesday that 12 aircraft – nine tankers and three Osprey transporters – left Mildenhall on Monday, citing flight tracking... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3373947/us-withdraws-9-military-aircraft-second-uk-airbase-after-iran-threat-reports https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3373947/us-withdraws-9-military-aircraft-second-uk-airbase-after-iran-threat-reports Tue, 10 Nov 2026 09:27:05 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The death toll from air strikes near Yemen’s capital has increased to 44, most of them women and children, health authorities from the Iran-backed Houthi rebels said overnight. The strikes on the village of Al-Shariya, east of Sanaa, wounded 40 others, including eight children and nine women, said Anees al-Asbahi, spokesman for the Houthi-run Health Ministry. The dead included 21 children and 10 women, he said, making the strikes one of the deadliest attacks in the latest bout of violence in... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3373850/houthi-rebels-say-least-44-people-killed-air-strike-near-yemeni-capital https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3373850/houthi-rebels-say-least-44-people-killed-air-strike-near-yemeni-capital Mon, 09 Nov 2026 20:49:03 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Iran’s Revolutionary Guards were behind cyberattacks on supermarket fridges in the country last month, France has said, vowing sanctions on a European level against Tehran over the first such large-scale cyber sabotage on French territory. Numerous French supermarkets were hit in the October 11 and 12 cyberattacks, which raised the temperatures in their refrigerators, in some cases forcing them to throw away entire inventories of perishable food. “I can confirm that this attack was carried out... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3373845/french-officials-suspect-iran-behind-fridge-cyberattacks-sources-say https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3373845/french-officials-suspect-iran-behind-fridge-cyberattacks-sources-say Mon, 09 Nov 2026 16:42:10 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Israeli President Isaac Herzog formally gave opposition politician Gadi Eisenkot the first chance to form the next government Sunday evening. Complex coalition negotiations still lie ahead, but it marked a significant step in the former military chief’s effort to oust Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, after elections held in a deeply divided country. Israel remains scarred by the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023, and the multifront wars they triggered. “I hope with... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3373722/israels-president-herzog-gives-gadi-eisenkot-first-chance-form-next-government https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3373722/israels-president-herzog-gives-gadi-eisenkot-first-chance-form-next-government Sun, 08 Nov 2026 22:47:54 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse An Emirati-owned gas complex in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region was attacked on Sunday, disrupting the gas supply to the region’s power plants, local Kurdish authorities said. “At 11pm (2000 GMT), the Khor Mor gas field came under a terrorist attack,” the regional natural resources and electricity authorities said in a statement, without elaborating. A Kurdish security source told Agence France-Presse that an “explosive-laden drone” hit the field. The Khor Mor complex, which supplies most of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3373721/attack-iraq-gas-complex-disrupts-supply-regions-power-plants-authorities-say https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3373721/attack-iraq-gas-complex-disrupts-supply-regions-power-plants-authorities-say Sun, 08 Nov 2026 22:09:47 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Iranian authorities executed three men on Sunday on charges linked to January 2026 protests, the judiciary said, after what rights groups described as an unfair trial. Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) said the hangings at dawn of Hassan Divband, Hamid Kazemi and Reza Zanganeh in the city of Karaj outside Tehran brought the number of men hanged over the January protests to at least 39 and warned many more were at risk. The judiciary’s Mizan news agency said the three had been convicted of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3373716/iran-executes-3-more-men-over-january-protests-judiciary-says https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3373716/iran-executes-3-more-men-over-january-protests-judiciary-says Sun, 08 Nov 2026 17:06:47 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Tens of thousands of people dressed in red thronged the streets of Amsterdam on Sunday to denounce ongoing violence against Palestinians in Gaza, carrying signs reading “Stop the Genocide”. Organisers said some 20,000 people attended the “red line” protest, demanding that the Dutch government take action against Israel. “Stop sending weapons to Israel,” one of the protesters, Steven Eisinger, a 33-year-old robotics engineer originally from the United States, told Agence France-Presse, wearing a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3373715/tens-thousands-dutch-protesters-take-amsterdam-streets-support-palestinians https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3373715/tens-thousands-dutch-protesters-take-amsterdam-streets-support-palestinians Sun, 08 Nov 2026 16:35:44 +0000 Reuters Reuters Windows were blown out across several floors of Saudi oil giant Aramco’s corporate office in the heart of the financial district of the capital Riyadh on Sunday by what the energy ministry said was debris from an attempt to attack the building. The ministry said damage ‌to the Aramco Tower was limited and there were no injuries or fatalities, without assigning responsibility for the attack. The Saudi-led coalition fighting Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen said Saudi air defences had intercepted... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3373700/saudi-aramco-building-riyadh-damaged-attempted-attack https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3373700/saudi-aramco-building-riyadh-damaged-attempted-attack Sun, 08 Nov 2026 11:34:24 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Gadi Eisenkot, an unassuming former army chief of staff, has a pathway to Israel’s top job after President Isaac Herzog tapped him to form the next government. Should he succeed, he would take over as prime minister from Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving leader whose inflammatory style has earned him as much admiration as it has outright hatred. Eisenkot, by contrast, is a reserved man, and some voters tired of Netanyahu see his rival’s relative lack of charisma as one of his greatest... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3373679/who-eisenkot-former-israeli-general-expected-replace-netanyahu https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3373679/who-eisenkot-former-israeli-general-expected-replace-netanyahu Sun, 08 Nov 2026 05:33:31 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Israel’s president announced on Saturday he would task Gadi Eisenkot with forming the next government following last week’s election, in what Netanyahu’s rivals see as a first step to remove the country’s longest-serving prime minister. The opposition bloc led by Eisenkot, a former military chief and political newcomer who has tried to appeal to secular and liberal Israelis, has opened the door to a once improbable alliance with ultra-Orthodox Jews, which could give it the numbers to form a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3373671/israels-president-taps-eisenkot-form-government-setback-netanyahu https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3373671/israels-president-taps-eisenkot-form-government-setback-netanyahu Sat, 07 Nov 2026 20:05:19 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press US President Donald Trump said the American military on Friday carried out new limited strikes on Iran, targeting an Iranian air defence system. Iranian state media reported the sound of two explosions in the Suza area of Qeshm Island, which is in a crucial waterway for oil shipments. Trump in an exchange with reporters described the military action as “minor”. “They knocked out – they built a little bit of an anti-aircraft device and we knocked it out in about 15 minutes, maybe five,” he told... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3373633/trump-confirms-fresh-iran-strikes-days-after-voters-punish-war-polls https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3373633/trump-confirms-fresh-iran-strikes-days-after-voters-punish-war-polls Sat, 07 Nov 2026 04:25:50 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Washington is offering a US$20 million reward “and possible relocation” for information about Iran’s nuclear programme, the US military has said, as President Donald Trump reiterated that Tehran wants to make a deal to end the war. A State Department programme, Rewards for Justice, “is offering a reward of up to US$20 million and possible relocation for information about Iran’s nuclear programme, including its facilities, equipment and associated personnel, such as those in the scientific... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3373625/irans-nuclear-programme-us-offers-us20-million-reward-information https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3373625/irans-nuclear-programme-us-offers-us20-million-reward-information Sat, 07 Nov 2026 02:04:14 +0000 Reuters Reuters Shaken by the accuracy ⁠of Iran’s attacks on Bahrain and support for them among some Bahrainis, authorities in the Gulf island ⁠nation have launched a crackdown on Shiite Muslim clerics they accuse of fostering allegiance to Tehran at home. Bahraini officials have framed the move in existential terms, saying Iran seeks to undermine and ultimately topple the leadership of the only Gulf country that is ruled by a Sunni Muslim family but populated mostly by Shiites. Critics, including rights... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3373604/iran-war-revives-bahrains-conflict-shiite-muslim-majority https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3373604/iran-war-revives-bahrains-conflict-shiite-muslim-majority Fri, 06 Nov 2026 14:13:13 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain The close defence relationship between the United States and Israel is set to be restructured over the coming two years, with billions of dollars in direct annual military aid being phased out in favour of joint weapons technology programmes. US President Donald Trump shocked Israelis and Americans alike on Tuesday by suddenly announcing that the roughly US$4 billion a year in direct military funding Israel received from Washington would be cut off by the end of the year. Speaking to Fox News on... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3373487/trumps-israel-aid-cut-reveals-push-trade-grants-tech-cooperation https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3373487/trumps-israel-aid-cut-reveals-push-trade-grants-tech-cooperation Fri, 06 Nov 2026 05:00:29 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he will announce on Sunday whom he will task with trying to form a new government, after the opposition’s Gadi Eisenkot secured a commanding number of recommendations to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Herzog held a second day of consultations with political parties on Thursday after the October 27 election, in which neither Netanyahu - a polarising right-winger who has led Israel through three years of war - nor Eisenkot - a former military chief... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3373476/netanyahu-rival-eisenkot-tipped-seek-israeli-government-backing-arab-lists https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3373476/netanyahu-rival-eisenkot-tipped-seek-israeli-government-backing-arab-lists Fri, 06 Nov 2026 02:10:44 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Five oil tankers and a tugboat caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and army said in separate statements, according to local media on Thursday. Since the outbreak of the Iran war in late February, Tehran has severely restricted traffic through the strategic waterway, which normally carries about one-fifth of global oil consumption. It regularly attacks ships it accuses of transiting without its authorisation. The United States military has in response imposed a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3373454/iran-says-5-tankers-catch-fire-after-striking-naval-mines-strait-hormuz https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3373454/iran-says-5-tankers-catch-fire-after-striking-naval-mines-strait-hormuz Thu, 05 Nov 2026 15:35:51 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse When cheers erupted at a packed Tel Aviv stadium for Boy George, it was not only a sign of the 65-year-old singer’s enduring fame. It was the sound of national delight at an international pop star willing to perform in an increasingly isolated Israel. A smattering of Israeli flags dotted the crowd as the flamboyant Culture Club frontman took the stage in a sequinned jacket for Wednesday’s sold-out performance with a simple greeting of “Shalom!” The British singer is one of the few international... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3373444/boy-george-hailed-hero-defying-cultural-boycott-perform-israel https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3373444/boy-george-hailed-hero-defying-cultural-boycott-perform-israel Thu, 05 Nov 2026 13:26:58 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Israeli electoral authorities on Wednesday rejected allegations promoted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of fraud by Arab parties, who could hold the key to removing him from power after a divisive vote. President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday urged political leaders to compromise in forming a government after an election he said had no clear winner and condemned “racist” rhetoric against Arab parties. With neither bloc holding a majority in the 120-seat parliament after the October 27 vote,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3373260/blow-netanyahu-israeli-election-body-rejects-claims-arab-party-fraud https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3373260/blow-netanyahu-israeli-election-body-rejects-claims-arab-party-fraud Wed, 04 Nov 2026 09:24:54 +0000 Marco Vicenzino Marco Vicenzino China is becoming increasingly important to the Gulf’s economic future. Yet the Gulf remains capable of disrupting China’s own. That is the contradiction exposed by the US-Iran war. Beijing’s importance as an energy customer, investor and technology partner has grown, but its ability to guarantee the maritime routes connecting the Middle East to East Asia remains limited. The next contest in global energy will concern not only who produces and consumes it, but who can preserve access when... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3372480/us-iran-war-shows-chinas-influence-cant-secure-its-line-gulf-oil https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3372480/us-iran-war-shows-chinas-influence-cant-secure-its-line-gulf-oil Wed, 04 Nov 2026 08:30:07 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Washington was ending a 10-year security aid deal with Israel that allowed US$3.8 billion in annual aid to its ally until 2028. Trump said Israel was “fine” with him ending the aid, which began in 2019 and was signed under his predecessor, Barack Obama, three years earlier. “We’ll help Israel if they need it,” he added in an interview on US current affairs show Fox and Friends, saying that he had agreed with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3373183/trump-axes-us38b-annual-military-aid-israel-they-no-longer-need-it https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3373183/trump-axes-us38b-annual-military-aid-israel-they-no-longer-need-it Tue, 03 Nov 2026 15:33:47 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The Israeli opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot pledged on Tuesday to form a government quickly to oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but remained unclear on how, with divisions over whether to ally with Arab lawmakers. Meeting for the first time since an election a week ago brought an inconclusive result, the five opposition party heads consulted on strategy at a hotel in Herzliya, the tech industry hub north of Tel Aviv where former military chief Eisenkot lives. In a joint statement, the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3373175/israel-arab-lawmakers-key-unseating-netanyahu-amid-divided-opposition https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3373175/israel-arab-lawmakers-key-unseating-netanyahu-amid-divided-opposition Tue, 03 Nov 2026 13:32:43 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pushing for another wave of strikes on Iran after Tuesday’s midterm elections in the United States, according to two regional officials and a third person familiar with the matter. A return to full-scale war with Iran could help Netanyahu to form an emergency government after he and his far-right allies lost their parliamentary majority in last week’s elections. US President Donald Trump has alternated between threatening major strikes while pushing... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3373046/netanyahu-pressing-trump-attack-iran-after-us-midterm-elections-officials-say https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3373046/netanyahu-pressing-trump-attack-iran-after-us-midterm-elections-officials-say Mon, 02 Nov 2026 22:16:52 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Iran warned on Sunday that any renewed war with the United States could last longer than the previous round of fighting, after US President Donald Trump said he still had to “take care” of more targets. Diplomatic efforts to end the Middle East war have been punctuated by repeated threats from the United States and Israel to resume bombardments as they hold crucial elections. “A potential future war could last longer than [the] previous conflict, and the American president would not be in a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3372947/iran-warns-new-war-us-could-last-longer-trump-threatens-hammer https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3372947/iran-warns-new-war-us-could-last-longer-trump-threatens-hammer Mon, 02 Nov 2026 05:58:52 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The UAE is hoping for a breakthrough in negotiations between Iran and the United States while being prepared for the worst, a senior official said on Sunday, following threats of a resumption of the Middle East war. “We’re hoping that there is a diplomatic breakthrough,” diplomatic adviser to the UAE president Anwar Gargash said during a conference in Manama, Bahrain. “It is not the interest of the region to go through another round … But I think we’re also, as we’ve shown before, braced for the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3372891/us-iran-talks-uae-braced-worst-hoping-diplomacy https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3372891/us-iran-talks-uae-braced-worst-hoping-diplomacy Sun, 01 Nov 2026 11:35:47 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Turkey has moved the country’s Kurdish militant leader to a newly built part of an island prison where he has been incarcerated since 1999 as part of efforts to end decades of conflict, a senior Kurdish official said. Improving prison conditions for Abdullah Ocalan, who heads the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, has been a key Kurdish demand in the push to end the 42-year-long conflict between the militant group and Turkish authorities. Ocalan has been imprisoned in a penitentiary on the island... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3372883/turkey-moves-kurdish-militant-leader-part-peace-process https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3372883/turkey-moves-kurdish-militant-leader-part-peace-process Sun, 01 Nov 2026 09:45:06 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Saturday warned the United States and Israel against returning to war, according to a written statement, following threats from the Islamic republic’s foes of a possible resumption of strikes. “If the enemies once again launch military or terrorist attacks, it is the armed forces of the Islamic Republic and the Iranian nation that will determine the time and conditions for ending them,” said a statement attributed to Khamenei posted on his website. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3372847/irans-supreme-leader-warns-us-israel-against-war https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3372847/irans-supreme-leader-warns-us-israel-against-war Sat, 31 Oct 2026 14:16:26 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Nearly 200 nations have struck hard-fought agreements at a UN biodiversity summit, but the outcome was accompanied by disappointment over missed opportunities to address humanity’s destructive toll on nature. Delegates cheered on Friday as crucial texts were approved in overtime but the celebrations were tempered by acrimonious debates and regret over limited progress on some of the most contentious issues. The Cop17 summit in Armenia sought to revive a landmark commitment to halt and reverse... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3372839/200-nations-cop17-commit-biodiversity-goals-amid-missed-opportunities https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3372839/200-nations-cop17-commit-biodiversity-goals-amid-missed-opportunities Sat, 31 Oct 2026 11:16:20 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Saudi Arabia said on Friday it intercepted and destroyed a drone launched by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels near Islam’s holiest city, a claim the Houthis denied. A coalition spokesman, Major General Turki al-Malki, said the drone was intercepted in the region surrounding Mecca, Islam’s holiest city and a destination for millions of Muslim pilgrims each year. In a statement, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree denied carrying out any operations targeting Mecca, saying the group’s military... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3372733/saudi-arabia-says-houthis-launched-drone-destroyed-near-mecca-group-denies https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3372733/saudi-arabia-says-houthis-launched-drone-destroyed-near-mecca-group-denies Fri, 30 Oct 2026 09:25:58 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s camp finished ahead of the opposition but remained well short of a majority, final results from Israel’s general election showed on Friday, setting the stage for tough coalition talks or potentially another vote. Netanyahu’s coalition of right-wing and far-right parties won 53 of the Knesset’s 120 seats, with his Likud party remaining the largest faction with 27 seats. The opposition bloc, led by centrist Gadi Eisenkot, secured 48 seats. The results from the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3372644/netanyahus-party-claims-election-stolen-results-show-him-losing-majority https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3372644/netanyahus-party-claims-election-stolen-results-show-him-losing-majority Thu, 29 Oct 2026 23:32:33 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has fired the Pentagon’s top military planner, a defence official said on Wednesday, the latest in a series of generals to be ousted and one that comes even as President Donald Trump weighed renewed strikes on Iran in the eight-month-long war. US Army Lieutentant General Brett Sylvia was removed as head of strategy, plans and policy on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He is the second general to be ousted from the post, known in military circles as the “J5”, under... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3372530/hegseth-fires-pentagons-top-military-planner-trump-weighs-new-iran-strikes https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3372530/hegseth-fires-pentagons-top-military-planner-trump-weighs-new-iran-strikes Thu, 29 Oct 2026 04:54:53 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain The United States’ Muslim-majority Middle Eastern allies have accelerated talks with Tehran over a new regional security framework amid fears of further blowback from the Iran war. Saudi Arabia directly entered the diplomatic fray for the first time on Monday, sending the king’s younger son, Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, to Tehran for face-to-face talks with Iran’s top security official Mohsin Razaee and other leaders. Accompanied by the military and intelligence chiefs of Mecca... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3372527/why-us-allies-middle-east-are-accelerating-direct-talks-iran https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3372527/why-us-allies-middle-east-are-accelerating-direct-talks-iran Thu, 29 Oct 2026 04:42:58 +0000 Reuters Reuters Benjamin Netanyahu looked set to ⁠remain Israel’s caretaker prime minister after unexpectedly strong backing among Jewish voters left his opponents little apparent prospect of unseating him, despite his right-wing bloc losing its parliamentary majority. With nearly 93 per cent of the vote counted, Netanyahu’s bloc was at 53 seats and the opposition forces led by rival Gadi Eisenkot at 48 – both well under the 61 needed to form a government. Parties representing Arab Israelis were projected to... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3372487/netanyahu-set-remain-caretaker-pm-after-inconclusive-israel-election https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3372487/netanyahu-set-remain-caretaker-pm-after-inconclusive-israel-election Wed, 28 Oct 2026 17:39:33 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Israelis voted on Tuesday in their highest turnout for decades, with exit polls showing the camp of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and that of his rival are neck and neck. Exit polls from the three mainstream Israeli television networks gave the two blocs around 51 seats each in the 120-member Knesset - well below the 61 needed to govern - after initially giving an edge to the opposition led by ex-army chief Gadi Eisenkot. Israeli Arab lists made strong gains, with exit polls showing them... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3372401/tight-vote-count-keeps-israel-suspense-what-happens-next https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3372401/tight-vote-count-keeps-israel-suspense-what-happens-next Wed, 28 Oct 2026 06:16:40 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The camp of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was ahead of his rival’s opposition bloc but still short of a majority on Wednesday after two-thirds of the votes were counted in Israel’s pivotal general election. Voters turned out in the highest numbers in decades to give their verdict on Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, who has pushed the country sharply to the right and unleashed a wave of wars in response to Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack. Following the vote, both Netanyahu... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3372354/israel-exit-polls-show-election-deadlock-netanyahus-fate-balance https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3372354/israel-exit-polls-show-election-deadlock-netanyahus-fate-balance Tue, 27 Oct 2026 20:26:06 +0000 Reuters Reuters Israel continued to commit genocide in Gaza after last ⁠October’s US-brokered ceasefire in the enclave, a ⁠UN commission said in a report published on Monday ⁠that Israel dismissed as part of a “misinformation campaign”. The report by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, examined violations against Palestinian civilians, including children, since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas on October... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3372344/israel-keeps-committing-genocide-gaza-after-truce-un-inquiry-says https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3372344/israel-keeps-committing-genocide-gaza-after-truce-un-inquiry-says Tue, 27 Oct 2026 14:48:59 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Israelis are voting in a pivotal election Tuesday as their country is embroiled in unresolved wars, still reeling from Hamas’ 2023 attack and deeply divided over the character of the state and the right person to lead it. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing off against an array of parties seeking to oust the long-time leader from power. Opinion polls have suggested a tight race with his main rival, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot. Over 7 million people are eligible to vote. In... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3372273/israelis-vote-tense-election-testing-netanyahus-grip-power https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3372273/israelis-vote-tense-election-testing-netanyahus-grip-power Tue, 27 Oct 2026 07:00:49 +0000 Reuters Reuters Jordan said on Monday its air force struck what it described as militant hideouts in southern Syria after determining that the suspects behind last week’s deadly church attack in ‌the kingdom were linked to “terrorist groups” operating there. The armed forces said the operation was conducted in coordination with Damascus. Syria’s government gave a contradictory account, saying it had launched an investigation into the Jordanian attacks, and stressed in a statement the importance of field and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3372253/jordan-strikes-targets-syria-after-deadly-church-attack https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3372253/jordan-strikes-targets-syria-after-deadly-church-attack Tue, 27 Oct 2026 05:22:48 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain A decision by Turkey, Pakistan, Qatar and Indonesia to jointly develop and produce weapons systems marks a major push to reduce reliance on Western armaments that come with political strings attached, observers say. Following the signing of the Badr memorandum of understanding in Doha on Wednesday, the four governments separately said they would work towards integrating their defence industries and supply chains to meet military needs. “By leveraging the capabilities of each country in the field... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3372228/why-are-turkey-pakistan-qatar-and-indonesia-joining-forces https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3372228/why-are-turkey-pakistan-qatar-and-indonesia-joining-forces Tue, 27 Oct 2026 02:23:17 +0000 Reuters Reuters Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu boasted of ⁠his endorsement from Donald Trump on the eve of Israel’s election, suggesting the two leaders could restart their war against Iran if he wins, after Trump said they should “finish the job”. “US President Donald Trump has come with a friendship that has never existed before between an Israeli prime minister and an American president. And it is doubtful we will ever have such a friendly president again,” Netanyahu said in a televised appearance... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3372222/netanyahu-touts-trump-endorsement-eve-vote-suggests-they-may-restart-war-iran https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3372222/netanyahu-touts-trump-endorsement-eve-vote-suggests-they-may-restart-war-iran Mon, 26 Oct 2026 22:29:05 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan held talks with Iran on Monday in an attempt to stop the Middle East war from reigniting, with Tehran saying the discussions were “very good”. Officials from the three Mecca pact countries flew to Iran as part of efforts to “de-escalate between the parties to the current crisis”, a Saudi foreign ministry statement said. The talks, which included heavyweight Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, followed warnings by the United... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3372218/mecca-pact-countries-iran-bid-stop-war-restarting https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3372218/mecca-pact-countries-iran-bid-stop-war-restarting Mon, 26 Oct 2026 19:47:10 +0000 Reuters Reuters Jordanian security forces arrested two brothers ‌and their brother-in-law after a shoot-out on Monday over a church attack that killed nine people, and the suspects appear to have no ties to other cells, senior government security officials said. “God willing, they only represent themselves,” Jordan’s Director of Public Security, Major-General Obeidallah al-Maaytah, said. Such violence is highly unusual in Jordan, a relatively stable US ally in the Middle East, and Friday’s attack on the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3372198/jordan-arrests-3-relatives-over-deadly-church-attack-after-shoot-out https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3372198/jordan-arrests-3-relatives-over-deadly-church-attack-after-shoot-out Mon, 26 Oct 2026 13:02:50 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The Saudi-led military coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthis struck several of the group’s missile launchers and storage facilities, a spokesman said on Monday, while the Iran-backed group claimed a new attack on Riyadh’s international airport. The coalition’s operation came a day after explosions rattled Saudi Arabia’s capital and authorities sent text messages to residents warning them of a “hostile aerial threat” to the city, which has been heavily targeted by the Houthis in recent weeks. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3372131/saudi-coalition-intercepts-missile-houthis-claim-new-attack-riyadh-airport https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3372131/saudi-coalition-intercepts-missile-houthis-claim-new-attack-riyadh-airport Mon, 26 Oct 2026 05:49:19 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Iran and its allies might try to disrupt Tuesday’s Israeli elections, warning the Islamic republic against any hostile acts. The remarks came as Israel’s Channel 12 reported, citing unnamed sources, that there had been a confrontation between Netanyahu and army chief Eyal Zamir over an unspecified new directive in the war with Iran, which the prime minister denied. Netanyahu has campaigned heavily on his security credentials, touting the war he... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3372091/netanyahu-warns-iran-may-try-disrupt-election-says-dont-test-us https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3372091/netanyahu-warns-iran-may-try-disrupt-election-says-dont-test-us Sun, 25 Oct 2026 17:29:00 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Israel said on Sunday all land crossings with the West Bank will be closed on the day of next week’s election, as it pledged a harder line on militancy after Palestinian gunmen killed two soldiers in the territory. The announcement came a day after Israeli forces pushed into the occupied West Bank city of Hebron and displaced around 2,000 residents, with Defence Minister Israel Katz saying, “they will not be allowed to return … until we’ve finished dealing with all the Hamas issues in... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3372058/israel-widens-west-bank-crackdown-displacing-hebron-families-after-attack https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3372058/israel-widens-west-bank-crackdown-displacing-hebron-families-after-attack Sun, 25 Oct 2026 06:23:07 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Before the outbreak of the war triggered by the US-Israeli attack on Iran in February, the Gulf monarchies were living the prosperity dream that was the envy of the world. Their hydrocarbon-fuelled economies were glitzy oases of growth, inoculated from the conflict in Gaza that had rocked other parts of the Middle East for several years. Underpinned by decades-old US security guarantees and conflict mediation by billionaire sheikhs, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar cultivated... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3371922/gulf-economies-accelerate-diversification-recession-looms-over-iran-war https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3371922/gulf-economies-accelerate-diversification-recession-looms-over-iran-war Sun, 25 Oct 2026 04:00:10 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Houthi media reported that Saudi strikes killed 11 people in Yemeni capital Sanaa on Saturday, shortly after the Saudi-led coalition fighting them said it had intercepted two missiles targeting Saudi cities. The Houthis’ Al-Masirah outlet reported a series of “Saudi enemy air strikes” targeting Sanaa, including one on a house that killed at least four people and wounded several others. A separate strike at a residence building for cement factory workers in the Sanaa governorate killed six women... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3372035/saudi-strikes-kill-11-yemen-houthi-missiles-target-saudi-cities https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3372035/saudi-strikes-kill-11-yemen-houthi-missiles-target-saudi-cities Sat, 24 Oct 2026 14:33:12 +0000 Zhou Xiaoming Zhou Xiaoming The anxiety gripping Seoul is palpable. Under US pressure, South Korea signed a US$350 billion investment deal last November for a 10-percentage-point tariff reduction, billing it as a strategic alliance. Barely a year on, the facade has crumbled. Last month, US President Donald Trump announced a US$200 billion tranche of the deal with no South Korean official present. Blindsided, Seoul restated its “commercial viability” clause. Trump’s response was blunt. “If they don’t want to do it, that’s... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3371802/seouls-useless-placation-warning-all-us-trade-partners https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3371802/seouls-useless-placation-warning-all-us-trade-partners Sat, 24 Oct 2026 08:30:09 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Israel’s military launched an operation in the occupied West Bank on Friday it said would last several days and include searches and building demolitions, after gunmen killed two soldiers days ahead of Israeli elections featuring security as a key focus. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is locked in a tight race to keep his job in Tuesday’s vote, having campaigned on promises to keep Israelis safe, and he and his right-wing allies visited the scene of the attack to pledge an even harder line on... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3372010/israel-launches-major-operation-west-bank-after-soldiers-killed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3372010/israel-launches-major-operation-west-bank-after-soldiers-killed Sat, 24 Oct 2026 07:00:20 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Drinking water has been scarce for over a decade in Taiz, but the problem has reached crisis levels in recent weeks as Iran-backed Houthi rebels besiege Yemen’s third-largest city in their escalating conflict with government forces. The needs of Taiz’s more than 1 million residents are now barely being met, humanitarian groups say, as access to wells is limited, desalination plants run low on fuel and water delivery trucks are largely prevented from entering the city. Families are rationing... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3372006/besieged-yemeni-city-drinking-water-supplies-hit-crisis-levels https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3372006/besieged-yemeni-city-drinking-water-supplies-hit-crisis-levels Sat, 24 Oct 2026 06:05:46 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Days ahead of close-fought Israeli elections, campaigns have gone into overdrive with poor-taste jibes and inflammatory attacks against candidates, sometimes crossing red lines. Fuelled in part by a boom in AI-generated images flooding social media, candidates and activists are seeking to portray their opponents as weak, untrustworthy or damaging for the country as they play on stereotypes and fears to sway public opinion. The electioneering has at times turned personal, with some candidates who... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3371998/israeli-election-campaign-turns-ugly-jibes-attacks-against-candidates https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3371998/israeli-election-campaign-turns-ugly-jibes-attacks-against-candidates Sat, 24 Oct 2026 04:30:10 +0000