Gaza City apartment block collapses, dozens missing
Rescuers searched on Wednesday for dozens of people missing after an apartment block in Gaza collapsed, killing eight people including children, authorities in the war-torn enclave said.
Gaza's civil defence agency said the six-storey building in the Tal al-Hawa area was home to people displaced by the war with Israel, and collapsed onto residentials and nearby tents.
Agency spokesman Mahmoud Basal told AFP the building had sustained structural damage from Israeli strikes.
"The bodies of eight martyrs including children and 15 injured individuals have been recovered from the rubble," Basal said.
He said more than 60 people were missing.
Civil Defence workers attempt to rescue people trapped beneath the rubble of a residential building, damaged in an earlier Israeli strike, that collapsed on in Gaza City, September 16, 2026. (Photo: Mahmoud Issa, Reuters)
Emergency crews at work at the site of a residential building collapse in Gaza City, September 16, 2026. (Photo: Mahmoud Issa, Reuters)
The Houthis are expanding their strike campaign into Saudi Arabia, says the ISW
Houthis say shot down Saudi fighter jet over Yemen
Yemen's Houthis said they shot down a Saudi fighter jet, claiming a locally made munition was used to target the warplane.
"The Yemeni Armed Forces, with Allah's aid and grace, succeeded in shooting down a Saudi F15 fighter jet while it was carrying out hostile operations in support of its military mobilisations in the airspace of Marib province, using a locally made air-to-air missile," a spokesman for the Houthis said on social media, while accusing Saudi Arabia of launching 450 strikes.
- Saudi Arabia says it intercepted Houthi drone south of Mecca
- Houthi official says Saudi claim of an attack on Mecca a 'lie'
- US issues advisory to 'reconsider travel' to Saudi Arabia
Strait of Hormuz ship crossings remain in single digits, data shows
Vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz remained in the single digits at four on Tuesday, down from seven a day earlier, preliminary shipping data showed on Wednesday. The figures fall well short of the 10-day average of 18.
Of the total, two ships were exiting and two were entering, according to the data.
No very large crude carriers or liquefied natural gas tankers were involved.
Some ships may be sailing through the waterway with their transponders turned off and they are therefore not counted.
US issues advisory to 'reconsider travel' to Saudi Arabia
The United States embassy on Tuesday issued an advisory to "reconsider travel" to Saudi Arabia after Riyadh issued alerts in Mecca and other areas amid Houthi attacks.
The advisory warns of the "risk of Iranian drone and missile targeting of American interests, armed conflict, terrorism, exit bans and local laws regarding social media activity", adding "Do Not Travel to the Yemen border due to threat of terrorism."
US on track to approve $2.8 billion arms package for Israel
The US federal government is on track to approve a $2.8 billion arms package for Israel, US media reported Tuesday, with the sale of 40,000 one-ton bombs among the largest munitions packages sold in recent years.
The Washington Post said the package – funded with US taxpayer dollars – featured some of the most destructive munitions in Western arsenals, including 20,000 MK-84s, 20,000 BLU-117s, and 20,000 I-2000 Penetrator warheads.
The New York Times said the administration of US President Donald Trump had approved the sale, citing a US official.
A senior administration official told AFP that "all foreign arms sales are moving through the appropriate process", but wouldn't comment on pending transactions.
Meanwhile, a State Department spokesperson told AFP that "as a matter of policy, the Department does not confirm or comment on proposed arms sales until they have been formally notified to Congress".
Explosions heard on Iran's Qeshm island
Several explosions were heard on Iran's Qeshm island, Iranian official IRNA news agency reported, citing local sources as saying, adding the sounds appeared to have come from the direction of the sea.
OIC condemns Houthi attack on Mecca, which rebels deny
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation condemned Wednesday the Houthis' "heinous" attack on Islam's holy city Mecca, which the rebel group has denied.
"The General Secretariat of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) condemns the heinous attacks carried out by the Houthi group against the city of Makkah and the Madinah region, as well as its ongoing aggression against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," the OIC said in a statement posted on X.
Houthi official says Saudi claim of an attack on Mecca a 'lie'
Saudi Arabia says it intercepted Houthi drone south of Mecca
Saudi Arabia's air defences intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone south of Mecca on Tuesday before it entered prohibited airspace over the holy city, said a spokesman for the Saudi-led military coalition fighting Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis.
The security of Islam's two holiest sites and of pilgrims was a "red line", coalition spokesperson Turki al-Malki said early on Wednesday, adding that the coalition would take necessary deterrent measures against the Houthis.
Mecca, home to shrines sacred to Muslims worldwide, is Islam's holiest city and the focal point of the annual hajj pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam, which millions of Muslims undertake each year.
Malki described the incident as the second Houthi attempt to target Mecca, following what the coalition said was a ballistic missile launch in July 2017.
Welcome to the FRANCE 24 liveblog covering events in the Middle East. You can catch up on yesterday's developments here.
Yesterday's key developments:
• Saudi Arabia vowed to respond "firmly" to attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels after the Iran-backed fighters wounded 13 people in the kingdom’s south following a series of drone and missile attacks.
• Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met in Cairo for talks on security freedom and security of navigation in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea.
• The US Defense Department's inspector general revealed that the United States is facing a shortfall in ammunition as a result of its costly war in Iran, which has cost the US $38 billion so far.
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters, AP and AFP)
