Saudi Arabia said debris from an intercepted Houthi drone killed one person, while the leader of the Iran-backed Houthis called for protests and said the kingdom committed a “monstrous fabrication” when it accused the rebels of trying to attack Islam’s holiest city. In the U.S., the Trump administration approved the US$24.3 billion sale of advanced F-35 fighter jets and related equipment to Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, United Nations-backed human rights experts said there are “reasonable grounds” to believe the U.S. committed war crimes in two strikes in Iran when the war began in February. Here’s a look at the latest news in the Middle East on Thursday. Full coverage can be found here. Houthi drone debris killed 1, Saudi Arabia says Debris from an intercepted Houthi drone killed one person and injured two others in Saudi Arabia’s Taif province, Saudi civil defence said Thursday. The statement didn’t indicate when this happened, though Saudi Arabia said Wednesday that it had stopped a drone aimed at Mecca, Islam’s holiest city. The Houthis are fighting the internationally recognized government in Yemen, which is backed by Saudi Arabia. The Houthis deny targeting Mecca. Iran’s Foreign Ministry said a claim of intercepting a drone shouldn’t be used to escalate tensions. Houthi leader goes on TV to call for protests In a televised speech, Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi called for an end to what he described as Saudi Arabia’s blockade of Yemen as fighting between the Houthis and Yemen’s government forces continued. Al-Houthi denounced as an “utterly heinous lie” that the Houthis had attempted to target Mecca. He called for mass protests Friday in Sanaa and Houthi-controlled areas to show support for protecting holy mosques and rejecting the blockade. An estimated 125,000 people in Yemen have fled as the Houthis have advanced down the Red Sea coast to a key maritime chokepoint. The offensive, linked to the wider Iran war, has threatened Saudi oil exports, pushed up global fuel prices and rattled markets. US OKs Saudi military aircraft deal The U.S. State Department said the Saudis can purchase 48 F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter aircraft along with jet engines, secure communication systems, spare parts and more. The sale “will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a major non-NATO ally that is a force for political stability and economic progress in the Gulf region,” the department said in a statement. UN-backed experts look at U.S. strikes in Iran Human rights experts commissioned by the UN’s top human rights body said their findings focus on a pair of U.S. strikes that killed at least 178 civilians, including women and children, on the first day of the war in Iran. At least one U.S. missile hit the Shajareh Tayyebeh school in Minab, according to an Associated Press investigation. The Trump administration has yet to directly accept the blame or release findings of a Pentagon investigation into the school bombing. The UN-backed team made the allegations of war crimes over the strike on the “clearly identifiable” school and another airstrike where missiles dispersed tungsten pellets over a “clearly identifiable sports complex and residential area” in the southern city of Lamerd. Palestinian Authority objects to U.S. decision on visas The Palestinian Authority condemned the U.S. denial of visas for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and other PA officials ahead of the UN General Assembly and called Israel’s actions “the real threat to the two-state solution and prospects for peace.” The authority administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. It also pushed back against U.S. accusations that it has glorified extremism and strayed from the path toward peace with Israel. Its foreign ministry said it remained committed to long-stalled negotiations but defended its efforts to gain Palestinian recognition through international bodies and courts. The U.S. opposes the strategy. Israel expands plan for controversial West Bank settlement The new tender, which seeks bids from developers, would bring the total number of housing units for the E1 project to 3,401. The development would effectively cut the West Bank in two. Critics say the planned settlement, east of Jerusalem, would prevent the possibility of a Palestinian state in the territory. The project will be “extremely difficult to reverse” under any future government, the Israeli rights group Ir Amim said in a statement. A spokesperson for the Palestinian president condemned the new units as a violation of international law. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The E1 project was on hold for years due to U.S. pressure. Protests over fuel prices lead to change in Syria Syria will provide subsidized diesel fuel for heating and agriculture after sharp price increases sparked widespread protests this week. The energy minister said Thursday that the government would set a tiered system of prices for diesel, with subsidized fuel being sold at 115 Syrian pounds (US$0.94) per litre (35 ounces). The government on Sunday announced price increases of 30 per cent to 40 per cent for gasoline and diesel, citing the U.S.-Iran war and repairs at a major oil refinery. Hundreds of oil trucks were stranded when protesters blocked a highway. Syrian court orders sentences stemming from 2025 insurgency A judge has sentenced three people, including an army soldier, after an investigation of violent clashes in Syria’s coastal region in which more than 1,000 people were killed in March 2025. Loyalists of ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad attacked government troops and security forces in areas where members of the Alawite religious minority live. The government’s counter-insurgency spiralled into sectarian violence. Syria’s military criminal court sentenced the soldier to 20 years in prison Thursday. Two Assad loyalists were also sentenced -- one to death and the other to life in prison. The violence last year horrified minorities in Syria and others skeptical of the country’s new Islamist-led leadership. ___ The Associated Press
