Oct. 24: Man detained after allegedly attacking Bennett’s security detail in Tel Aviv

At Florida rally, Trump revives idea of US military intervention in Cuba after Iran

US President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally, October 23, 2026, at Alico Arena on the campus of Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, Florida. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)

FORT MYERS, Florida — US President Donald Trump tells a rally for candidates in South Florida that US warships returning from the Middle East could stop over in Cuba on their way back from the Iran war, his latest suggestion of taking an interventionist approach to the nearby country.

Trump first floated this idea earlier this year, but has not mentioned it in recent months. But he revives it in response to a shouted question from the crowd about the island nation. He is campaigning just days ahead of midterm elections in which voters have expressed concern about the impact the US war on Iran has had on prices of goods from gas to groceries.

“We’ll do a little stopover,” Trump says. “Actually, what we’re going to do with Cuba is, we’re going to come back from Iran. Those beautiful ships will pass Cuba. We’ll have one of them stop about 50 yards off the coast. They’ll raise up their hands. And then we’re going to send (Secretary of State) Marco Rubio in to finish up the deal.”

Moments after Trump speaks at the rally, Rubio posts on social media that “now is the time” for action on Cuba, addressing his post “to those who seek to create positive change” and urging them “to seize this opportunity to create the change you desire through a discrete partnership with the CIA.”

German police detain suspect after fire at Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest retreat

Eagle's Nest, designed as a present for Adolf Hitler's 50th birthday and built on the Kehlstein mountain overlooking Berchtesgaden, Germany, May 10, 2007 (AP Photo/Yves Logghe)

German police say they have detained a suspect following a fire at Adolf Hitler’s Kehlsteinhaus retreat, also known as the Eagle’s Nest, in the state of Bavaria.

“A suspicious person was taken into temporary custody,” police say in a statement, following an earlier statement which said firefighters had found the building “completely ablaze.”

Saudi-led coalition says it downed Houthi ballistic missile targeting Riyadh

The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthis says it has intercepted a ballistic missile launched towards Riyadh by the Iran-backed group.

“Air defences intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the Houthi terrorist militia toward Riyadh,” coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki posts on X.

Railway works blocking major Tel Aviv highway

Motorists report rare Saturday morning traffic jams on a major Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv caused by works on the adjacent railway line.

Ynet reports that the infrastructure work had been scheduled to end by 8 a.m., but was still causing backups after that time.

US embassy in Amman says security ramped up across Jordan after deadly church attack

The US embassy in Amman says security has been stepped up at malls, foreign embassies and other locations across Jordan after yesterday’s deadly attack on a church in Jordan’s Karak governorate.

Gunmen opened fire during a funeral at the church, killing seven people and wounding 40 others, Jordanian authorities said, in what King Abdullah II called a “terrorist act.”

There has been no immediate claim of responsibility.

Authorities are still searching for the attackers, whom they describe as “extremists,” while adding it was too early to determine whether they had links to known groups inside or outside Jordan.

Iranian media says President Pezeshkian to meet Putin in Moscow next week

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, speaks to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian during their meeting on the sidelines of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) summit in Türkmenbaşy, Turkmenistan, October 8, 2026. (Sergei Bobylev/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian will meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow next week, Iranian media reports.

Pezeshkian is due to visit Russia for a meeting of gas-exporting countries.

Russia and Iran, two of the most sanctioned nations on earth, have grown closer together in the years since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

“The Iranian president will visit Moscow to attend the summit of gas-exporting countries that will take place on Tuesday October 27,” the Tasnim news agency reports, citing Tehran’s ambassador to the country, Kazem Jalali.

The two leaders will discuss economic cooperation as well as “questions of geopolitics,” Jalali is quoted as saying.

Yesterday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi signalled that talks between Tehran and Moscow would take place next week with both presidents in attendance.

His Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov visited Iran this week for the first time since the start of the Middle East war, with Araghchi declaring Russo-Iranian cooperation closer than ever.

In early October, Putin said Russia was prepared to take part in mediation to bring an end to the war started by the US and Israel in February. Negotiations between Washington and Tehran have been stalled for months, with both the US and Israel threatening to resume their strikes on Iran.

Palestinians in Hebron report widespread closures, blocked roads amid IDF op in West Bank city

Israeli soldiers close a gate to vehicles during an army operation in Hebron, in the West Bank, October 24, 2026, a day after a Palestinian shooting attack in the area. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Palestinians in Hebron report widespread closures amid an Israeli military crackdown on the southern West Bank city a day after two soldiers were killed in a shooting attack carried out by Palestinian gunmen from the city.

Taxis piled up behind gates outside Hebron, waiting for Palestinians forced to cross on foot, locals report, as the IDF blocked cars from entering or exiting the checkpoint.

All gates leading in and out of the city were impassable by car, according to Basma Radio, a crowdsourced Telegram channel Palestinians in the West Bank use to monitor checkpoints and road closures.

Palestinian news outlet WAFA says that Israeli troops forced dozens of residents to evacuate their homes in some neighborhoods of Hebron and closed all entrances and roads leading into the city.

The IDF did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the reported closures.

The army said yesterday that the operation in Hebron was “focused and limited to the area from which the terrorists operated,” and was expected to last several days.

Saudi civil defense warning of ‘potential danger’ in Mecca, Jeddah; warning rescinded minutes later

Saudi Arabia’s civil defense agency broadcasts warnings of “potential danger” for four of its western provinces, including that of Mecca, home to Islam’s holiest city, without saying why.

The alerts, which also covered the major Red Sea city of Jeddah, nearby Taif and the coastal oil hub of Yanbu, were all rescinded minutes later.

Residents were briefly instructed to “proceed to the nearest safe place” by the agency. The agency also repeats a legal warning against sharing images or information related to “countering missiles and drones.”

The Gulf kingdom has come under repeated attack from Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis in recent weeks as part of the latter country’s revived civil war.

Report: Netanyahu has told Israeli diplomats to support Argentina’s claim over Falkland Islands, call for direct talks with UK

Mount Tumbledown stands tall behind Stanley on the Falkland Islands, also known as Islas Malvinas, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told Israeli diplomats to change Jerusalem’s official position over the Falkland Islands, The Telegraph reports, signaling further degradation of Israel’s relations with the United Kingdom.

According to the report, which cites anonymous sources, Netanyahu has ordered Israel to support Argentina’s claim over the disputed South Atlantic islands, and has told diplomats to call for direct talks over the issue, which is Argentina’s official position under President Javier Milei.

The Falkland Islands are officially a British overseas territory, although Argentina claims that it, not the UK, has sovereignty over the islands, which it refers to as Islas Malvinas.

The report notes a speech made last month by Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, where he said “Israel recognizes the importance that the Argentine public attaches to this issue,” and said that “progress on this matter must be achieved while taking into consideration the full spectrum of relevant historical, legal and human aspects.”

According to The Telegraph, the wording of that statement explicitly supported Argentina’s claim to the islands, and marked a significant shift in Israel’s stance on the issue.

“The wording of the statement itself got approved at the highest ranks of the Israeli government,” one source tells the UK paper. “This is the first time Israel has got involved in this conflict.”

The reported shift in Israel’s position comes as Jerusalem’s relations with London are on the rocks, just a month after the UK moved to issue widespread sanctions on Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank and a year after London recognized a Palestinian state.

It also comes amid anger in Buenos Aires over the Israeli-owned Navitas Petroleum company’s plans to carry out offshore drilling in the Falkland Islands, expected to begin in 2028.

Israel has said that the government is not involved in, and has no control over, Navitas’s operations, given that it is a public company, and has said that Argentina under Milei “is one of Israel’s best and closest friends, and there is ongoing and close contact between the leadership of Israel and Argentina.”

France mobilizes 70,000 cops ahead of nationwide protests as Paris museums, businesses close for the day

Officers of the French gendarmerie stand guard in front of the National Assembly building in Paris on October 24, 2026. (NICOLAS TUCAT/AFP)

French security forces have mobilized across Paris in the tens of thousands, ahead of another wave of protests that authorities fear could turn violent, with Interior Minister Laurent Nunez urging police to be “hyper-reactive” against troublemakers and looters.

Soldiers from an anti-terrorism military unit are patrolling the Champs-Elysees avenue while police vans circle the Arc de Triomphe, looking to protect some of the capital’s most famous sites from any repeat of the unrest that shook France last week.

France has mobilized 70,000 police nationwide for today’s demonstrations, 10,000 more than on October 17, when a wave of vandalism and looting raised questions about the government’s ability to maintain order.

Anger over living costs and strained public services has drawn students, workers and unions onto the streets in recent weeks, but authorities say radical militants and bands of young looters have exploited the protests to sow chaos.

Speaking to police in Paris, Nunez warns officers that they would face attempts to target shops, public institutions and security forces.

“We have to be ultra, ultra responsive. We have significant calls for disruption from political groups and quite simply from criminals,” he says. “It is going to be a long day.”

Many shopkeepers in Paris have boarded up storefronts, while luxury retailers beefed up security.

Business groups have urged stores to remain closed after thousands of shops and businesses were damaged or looted across France last weekend.

Several of Paris’ best-known cultural institutions, including the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay and the Opera House, are closed for the day to avoid being caught up in any turmoil. More than 20 metro stations are also shut.

IDF says troops killed two operatives who crossed Gaza’s Yellow Line yesterday

The military says troops killed two Palestinian terror operatives who crossed the “Yellow Line” in the Gaza Strip in separate incidents yesterday.

“In two separate incidents, IDF troops identified two terrorists who crossed the Yellow Line in the northern and southern Gaza Strip,” the military says, adding that “immediately following the identification, the troops eliminated the terrorists.”

Houthis say Saudi airstrike kills 4 people in Yemen, including women and children

An airstrike in Yemen killed four people from the same family, including women and children, the Iranian-backed Houthi health authorities says.

The strike late last night hit a house in the town of Hiba near the city of Taiz, a hotbed of violence in the country’s revived civil war.

A separate strike early this morning hit a shelter for African migrants in the northern city of Saada, injuring seven people, a Houthi spokesperson says in a statement. This Houthi spokesman blames Saudi Arabia for both strikes.

Saudi Arabia does not respond to a request for comment.

IDF probing after finding balloons carrying suspected drugs near southern airbase

The IDF says it is investigating after finding three balloons near a military base in the south of the country, carrying suspected drug packages tied to them.

Ground defense troops of the Israeli Air Force located the balloons earlier today adjacent to the perimeter fence of Hatzerim Airbase in southern Israel.

“Attached to the balloons were packages containing substances suspected of being various types of drugs, along with tobacco products,” the IDF says, adding that the incident is under further review.

Smugglers have at times used balloons to ferry drugs over the border from Egypt.

French police fire tear gas at protesters in Lyon as new demonstrations kick off across country

Workers install plywood boards on windows of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Lyon, on October 23, 2026 ahead of protests. (OLIVIER CHASSIGNOLE/AFP)

French police have started firing tear gas at protesters as they step up security in major cities, aiming to prevent a repeat of rioting a week ago, on a day of fresh nationwide demonstrations over the high cost of living.

Police in the southeast city of Lyon fired tear gas to disperse some 150 protesters near the city center — where demonstrations had been banned — when they briefly tried to block a road, an AFP journalist reports seeing.

????????LYON – MANIFESTATION DU 24 OCTOBRE

Premiers tirs de gaz lacrymogène à Lyon pic.twitter.com/kDJLattszE

— Direct Brut (@DirectBrut) October 24, 2026

Earlier, a police helicopter could be seen flying over the city, with security forces patrolling and armored vehicles and riot police vans parked nearby. Shops were boarded up, with private security guards in front of some. Calls to defy the bans on protests in the city center have circulated on social media.

Police have also been seen readying riot gear in zones that bore the brunt of last weekend’s clashes and looting.

Numerous riot police vans could be also seen in France’s second largest city of Marseille, along with armored vehicles and water cannon.

A heavy police presence has also been reported in Paris’ Place de la Bastille, along with many journalists, but few protesters. Police are using a megaphone to tell the crowd that the demonstration had been banned from the area, and ask protesters to go to the alternate route near Porte d’Italie “immediately.”

Report: IDF op in Hebron has already displaced some 1,500 Palestinians, thousands more expected to be ordered to leave

Palestinians transport bags of semolina past a military gate closed to vehicles during an Israeli army operation in Hebron, in the West Bank, October 24, 2026, a day after two IDF soldiers were killed by Palestinian gunmen in the area. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

The ongoing Israeli military operation in Hebron has so far displaced 1,500 Palestinians from their homes, according to local reports, with the army said to be planning to order the evacuation of another 2,500 people from their homes.

According to the WAFA news agency, citing Hebron’s governor, the operation has already displaced more than 200 families since yesterday. The Hebron governate has declared a state of emergency in the city and is forming a crisis management committee to assist displaced families, the report says.

Dozens of families were forced to spend last night outside, WAFA adds.

Hebron Mayor Youssef al-Jaabari tells WAFA that Israeli forces are seeking to displace another 2,500 people from two areas in the city.

The operation comes a day after two IDF soldiers were killed in a shooting attack carried out by Palestinian gunmen from the city.

The IDF did not immediately comment on the reported evacuations, but has said that the operation in Hebron is “focused and limited to the area from which the terrorists operated,” and is expected to last several days.

Palestinian residents living in the area where the troops were operating will be able to leave through three designated exit points, following questioning and security checks, the army said yesterday, adding that “anyone who raises suspicion during the checks will be taken for questioning by security forces.”

Spanish journalist said denied entry to Israel, no explanation given

Israel has denied entry to the country for Spanish journalist Francesca Cicardi, Haaretz reports, in what the paper says is the fifth instance in the past two weeks of foreign reporters being denied entry to Israel.

Cicardi, who reports for the left-leaning El Diario news site, did not receive any explanation for her denial from Israel, Haaretz says, despite the fact that she holds a valid Government Press Office permit to report from the country.

In a statement, El Diario emphasizes that Cicardi has reported from Israel for years, and has never encountered any issues with authorities.

“Cicardi reported reliably and professionally on all political developments in Israel even before October 7, 2023,” the statement says.

“Since then, she has covered the devastating consequences of the Israeli war in Gaza, the situation of the Palestinian population in Gaza and the West Bank, the signing of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, the release of the hostages and other events,” the outlet says.

According to Haaretz, the Prime Minister’s Office, Shin Bet and Foreign Ministry have not responded for comment on the reported denial of Cicardi’s visa.

French police arrest 135 people, seize various weapons, interior minister says

French police have so far arrested 135 people and seized a variety of weapons as they deployed for nationwide demonstrations with orders to prevent renewed street violence, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez says.

Weapons confiscated included metal balls, lead pellets, fireworks, slingshots, steel balls, improvised weapons, a katana and airsoft weapons, he says, while adding that, so far, “there has been no major incident.”

PA calls for international pressure amid mass displacement of Palestinians in Hebron

The Palestinian Authority calls for international pressure on Israel to protect Palestinians, as thousands of residents of the West Bank city of Hebron have been displaced from their homes amid an Israeli military operation in the city a day after an attack that killed two Israeli soldiers.

Confronting “the growing threats to expand the scope of forced displacement and destruction requires urgent international action that goes beyond condemnation to adopt tangible and deterrent measures,” the PA’s foreign ministry says in a statement.

PA vice president blasts Israel’s ‘collective punishment’ of Hebron residents amid major IDF op in city

Palestinian Authority Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh blasts Israel for its policy of “collective punishment” after the IDF launched a major counterterror operation in Hebron that has seen dozens of buildings destroyed and reportedly over 1,500 Palestinians displaced.

The operation was launched after Palestinian gunmen shot dead two Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint in the city.

“An entire people must not remain hostage to policies of collective punishment, nor must the suffering of civilians pass without accountability or reckoning,” Sheikh writes on Facebook, calling for international intervention against Israel.

250,000 protesters march in Madrid amid anger over state pension programs

Protesters hold banners and flags during a demonstration calling for an increase to pensions and wages through central Madrid on October 24, 2026. (Oscar DEL POZO/AFP)

Some 250,00 people are marching through central Madrid, city authorities say, with the protesters demanding protection for the Spanish state pension scheme, one of the hot topics in a parliamentary election next month.

The rally comes amid a political row over the sustainability of Spain’s pension scheme and the cost of living, with Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez accusing the right of planning to weaken inflation-linked increases. It follows similar mass protests in cities across Europe, most notably in France, where hundreds of thousands have gathered in cities across the country.

In Madrid, demonstrators have walked peacefully from Atocha train station to the Gran Via, the Spanish capital’s prime shopping avenue.

Madrid authorities tell AFP there are around 250,000 demonstrators, several of whom carried banners saying “protect and guarantee our pensions.”

Thousands protest in Turkey over journalists’ arrests, media shutdowns

Thousands are rallying in Istanbul and Ankara against what they describe as growing pressure on journalists in Turkey, including arrests, media shutdowns and the appointment of state administrators.

“Enough. We can no longer breathe,” shout marchers in the crowds, which are composed mainly of journalists, rights groups and opposition party representatives.

Press freedom has been increasingly constrained in Turkey since a failed coup attempt in 2016, with sweeping prosecutions and digital censorship. But recent weeks have seen what rights advocates say is mounting pressure on independent journalism.

Eleven journalists have been jailed in the past two months and several media outlets shut down, according to the Turkish Journalists’ Union.

At least 3,000 people have gathered on the Asian side of Istanbul, according to police. They hold up photos of jailed journalists, chanting: “We will not be silenced. Enough is enough!” and “We will not bow to pressure”.

Earlier this month, police raided Turkey’s most-watched news channel, Halk TV, halting broadcasts and installing a government-appointed administrator. The move was the latest against media outlets seen as critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his government.

French police employ tear gas to prevent demonstrators from reaching city centers

French police fire tear gas to prevent protesters in several cities from advancing to the centers, in fresh nationwide demonstrations held a week after riots broke out, AFP journalists see.

Riot squads fire tear gas at protesters in Lyon, Lille, Toulouse and Nantes, hours after Interior Minister Laurent Nunez warned: “We will not tolerate any violence or any disturbance of public order.”

Houthis claim attack on naval base and military camp in Yemen’s Aden

Yemen’s Houthis claim an attack on a naval base and a military camp in Aden, the interim seat of the internationally recognized government, after blasts are heard there.

“Our armed forced targeted Saudi enemy concentrations at the so-called Al-Nasr camp and the naval base in Aden,” Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree says, adding that the sites are overseen by Saudi forces.

Clashes erupt in Paris between police and demonstrators

Clashes break out in Paris after a demonstration over the high cost of living, with AFP reporters seeing police use batons and tear gas, and officials saying a water cannon was also used.

“The police started moving toward everyone, telling them to get down and back off. They were just taking people down, you know, beating protesters,” one demonstrator bleeding from a baton blow, who gives his first name as David, tells AFP.

Israeli and Greek navies drill in the Mediterranean, in apparent message to Turkey

Israeli and Greek naval vessels sail in the Mediterranean Sea during a joint drill between the Israeli Navy and Hellenic Navy, in a handout photo published on October 24, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

The Israeli Navy held a joint drill with the Hellenic Navy in the Mediterranean this week, the military says, in an apparent message to Turkey.

The drill involved Israeli missile boats and naval vessels from several Greek units, and was led by Israeli Navy chief Vice Adm. Eyal Harel and his counterpart, Vice Adm. Dimitrios-Eleftherios Kataras, along with the chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff, Gen. Dimitrios Choupis.

The IDF says the forces “practiced a variety of operational scenarios,” during the drill, including “identifying and thwarting threats in the maritime domain, sailing as a joint force, and sinking an enemy vessel using missile fire.”

“The exercise constitutes another step in deepening operational cooperation between the Israeli Navy and the Hellenic Navy, with the aim of strengthening joint readiness and preserving freedom of action in the Mediterranean,” the military says, adding that it also “marks a significant leap forward in naval military cooperation between the two countries.”

Harel, in remarks published by the IDF, says “the strategic partnership with Greece is a significant force multiplier, strengthening our ability to operate together, defensively and offensively, to safeguard security and freedom of navigation in the Mediterranean.”

Israel’s naval ties with Greece have deepened in recent years, particularly amid deteriorating relations with Turkey, once a close regional partner of Israel, and Greece’s traditional foe.

The drill’s announcement comes days after a maritime-boundaries deal between Libya and Turkey in the Mediterranean was ratified, which Israel, Greece, and other nations oppose.

Houthis say strikes in past day targeted Saudi airports, oil infrastructure and airbase

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis says they targeted a range of Saudi assets in the past 24 hours, listing three airports including capital Riyadh’s, two oil facilities, a pipeline and an airbase.

Military spokesman Yahya Saree says the group targeted “King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, the capital of the Saudi enemy, in two phases,” the airports in Dammam in the east and Najran in the south. The group also targeted the southern Khamis Mushait air base as well as “crude oil pumping stations and the crude oil pipeline from east to west.”

Eisenkot receives warm reception at Hostages Square as thousands rally for state inquiry into Oct. 7

A protester wearing a closed zipper on her mouth and a costume while draped in the Israeli flag poses during an anti-government demonstration at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv on October 24, 2026, several days before general elections. (Jack Guez/AFP)

Yashar party chief Gadi Eisenkot, the frontrunner to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tuesday’s election, arrives at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square as thousands of people gather there to demand a state commission of inquiry into the Hamas-led onslaught of October 7, 2023.

Eisenkot is greeted with enthusiastic applause and chants of “Who’s coming? The next prime minister.”

The packed crowd is dotted with Israeli flags, many emblazoned with the words “Hofshi Beartzenu” (Free in our Land), the name of an anti-government protest group.

The rally is organized by the October Council of families that lost loved in the Hamas attack and demand a statutory state commission of inquiry, which Netanyahu rejects.

Supporters of the opposition Democrats are also set to march over from Rabin Square, led by party head Yair Golan.

Several Palestinians said injured in settler attacks while harvesting olives near Ramallah

Palestinian media outlets report that a Palestinian man was attacked by settlers while harvesting olives near the village of Ein Arik, close to Ramallah.

The Palestinian Red Crescent says the man, aged 50, suffered fractures and is in moderate condition.

No further details about the incident are immediately available.

Separately, the Palestinian news agency WAFA reports that settlers attacked residents of the village of Kafr Malik, also near Ramallah, with pepper spray while they were harvesting olives. Several people reportedly suffered respiratory issues and facial burns.

#فيديو| إصابة فلسطيني جراء هجوم المستوطنين على قاطفي الزيتون في أراضي قرية عين عريك، غرب رام الله. pic.twitter.com/lNasxI6brm

— شبكة فلسطين للحوار (@paldf) October 24, 2026

Yashar: Shin Bet informed us that Eisenkot will receive security detail from tomorrow morning

Yashar chair Gadi Eisenkot speaks with his security guard as he prepares to deliver a campaign speech on the Israel-Gaza border, October 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

The Shin Bet domestic intelligence service tells Yashar that it will begin providing protection for party chairman Gadi Eisenkot tomorrow morning, according to the party.

Eisenkot will be protected by a private company that is directly operated by the Shin Bet’s Unit 730, which provides security details to top Israeli officials.

The Shin Bet doesn’t respond to a request for comment.

Saudi Arabia ‘responding’ to falling shrapnel from downed Houthi missiles in Mecca and Medina areas

Saudi Arabia’s civil defense agency says it’s responding to falling shrapnel following the interception of Houthi missiles in the Mecca and Medina areas, the two holiest cities in Islam.

“Civil defense in the Mecca and Medina regions began to respond to the falling debris from the interception of two ballistic missiles launched by the terrorist Houthi militia,” it says in a post on X, adding that some of the shrapnel fell in Wadi Mughamas outside Mecca.

French interior minister says nearly 1,000 arrested as cops face ‘extremely elevated level of violence’ from ‘ultra-left’ groups

French policemen stand guard after a demonstration against rising living costs in Rennes, France, October 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeremias Gonzalez)

French police have arrested “nearly 1,000” people in nationwide protests, a number that “will rise” as more figures come in, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez says.

Although marches over the cost of living “passed off well” in cities, officers later found themselves confronted with “an extremely elevated level of violence” from “ultra-left” groups, Nunez tells journalists.

Eisenkot vows to thwart Netanyahu from ‘securing a tie,’ as Golan warns against defections

Opposition party leaders Naftali Bennett of B'Yachad (left) and Gadi Eisenkot of Yashar (right) cross paths in the Channel 12 News on October 24, 2026, three days before elections. (Channel 12 Screenshot)

Yashar chairman Gadi Eisenkot vows to prevent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from engineering a political stalemate after Tuesday’s election, as Democrats leader Yair Golan warns against defections from the opposition bloc and rejects the possibility of joining a government with Likud, during a series of interviews with party leaders on Channel 12 three days before the national election.

“I promise that we’ll prevent Netanyahu from achieving his goal of securing a tie, winning by not losing, and dragging us into another election with an extremist minority government,” Eisenkot says.

He also backs legislation barring indicted politicians from serving as prime minister, but says it cannot apply retroactively to Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption, “because that would be unconstitutional.”

Democrats chairman Yair Golan, asked whether he fears defections from either Yashar or B’Yachad to Netanyahu’s camp, says the concern is justified.

“All the rumors in recent days about ‘We’ll sit with Likud’ or ‘We’ll sit with Netanyahu’ — those things are inconceivable. Our role isn’t to sit with Netanyahu or Likud. It’s to replace them,” he says.

“Are we supposed to believe Yoav Kisch is the ultimate education minister? Or that Israel Katz is a worthy defense minister? Or that Miri Regev has done good things for transportation in Israel? Or that Yariv Levin hasn’t destroyed Israel’s democratic institutions? Why on earth would we cooperate with them?”

B’Yachad head Naftali Bennett, meanwhile, clashes with United Torah Judaism chairman Yaakov Asher, who has conditioned joining a government on the passage of a law enshrining military exemptions for yeshiva students.

Asked whether he would join a government that includes Bennett, who has vowed to draft the Haredim as well as cut all state funding that ultra-Orthodox draft evaders currently receive, Asher responds: “Not someone who lashes out at an entire community just to win a few more votes.”

“He’s wrong. I’m not attacking the ultra-Orthodox. I’m looking out for the soldiers,” Bennett retorts.

Iran-backed Houthis claim they didn’t attack Mecca and Medina after Saudis warned of falling debris

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis denies Saudi Arabia’s report that they attacked the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, after Riyadh said it intercepted Houthi missiles headed toward the two regions.

The group says its operations target Saudi oil facilities and military bases, and that it announces such attacks when they occur.

Iranian judiciary says chief held rare meeting with supreme leader

An undated handout picture provided by the Iranian supreme leader official website on July 1, 2021 shows the new chief of Iran's judiciary authority, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei. (KHAMENEI.IR / AFP)

Iran’s judiciary says that its chief held a rare meeting with the country’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has yet to appear in public since being appointed.

Mojtaba was chosen in March to succeed his father and longtime ruler Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in US-Israeli strikes in central Tehran alongside senior military commanders at the start of the Middle East war, and was said to have been injured in the same attack.

Judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei and the supreme leader discussed issues including “securing public rights, and effectively combating corruption and its bottlenecks,” the judiciary’s Mizan Online website reports.

They held talks on “pursuing the recovery of rights and compensation for material and moral damages arising from the crimes of American-Zionist criminals,” it says.

The younger Khamenei has only communicated through written messages since his appointment, some of them published in handwriting attributed to him.

No video message from him has been released, and the time and location of his meeting with Ejei aren’t disclosed, as has been the case with previously reported meetings.

Earlier this week, Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf also reportedly met with the supreme leader to discuss “the latest developments” in the war.

President Masoud Pezeshkian was reported to have met Mojtaba Khamenei in May, in what was among the first publicly reported meetings with the new leader.

Ali Abdollahi, then head of the Khatam al-Anbiya command centre overseeing Iran’s military operations, also met him later.

Abdollahi was subsequently appointed chief of the staff of the Iranian armed forces while retaining his previous position.

Explosive-laden drone hits Iranian Kurdish opposition camp near Iraq’s Erbil — security sources

An explosive-laden drone attacked an Iranian Kurdish opposition camp northeast of Iraq’s Erbil, security sources say.

Italian police say 9 arrested, hundreds others briefly detained during protests today

Italian police carried out nine arrests and briefly detained 371 people during protests in eight cities today, the police say in a statement.

Of the people who were detained and taken to police stations, 110 were minors, the statement adds.

Katz says some 2,000 Palestinians displaced during military op in Hebron

Defense Minister Israel Katz says that about 2,000 Palestinians have been displaced in the city of Hebron in the West Bank in a military operation following the killing of two Israeli soldiers.

“About 2,000 have been displaced. Selected army units are now operating there,” Katz says in an interview with public broadcaster Kan. “They will not be allowed to return to their neighborhood until we’ve finished dealing with all the Hamas issues in Hebron.”

Saudi Arabia says Riyadh airport to resume flights on Sunday after two-week closure amid Houthi attacks

This image from CCTV video released by Saudi Arabia’s Media Ministry shows passengers taking cover as flames and smoke fill part of King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, during what authorities described as a strike at the airport on October 10, 2026. (Saudi Media Ministry via AP)

Saudi Arabia’s international airport in the capital, Riyadh, says flights will resume Sunday after a two-week closure that followed deadly attacks by Yemen’s Houthis, who have kept up their strikes on the kingdom.

“Please be advised that Terminal (1) will be designated for domestic flights and Terminal (2) for international flights operated by national carriers at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, effective Sunday, October 25, 2026,” King Khalid International Airport says on X.