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Arab World

Israel Says Deported 'All Foreign Activists' from Gaza-bound Flotilla

A Palestinian flag is pictured against a background of smoke grenades during a gathering against the interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla by the Israeli Navy off the coast of Cyprus outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Athens on May 18, 2026. (Photo by Aggelos NAKKAS / AFP)
A Palestinian flag is pictured against a background of smoke grenades during a gathering against the interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla by the Israeli Navy off the coast of Cyprus outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Athens on May 18, 2026. (Photo by Aggelos NAKKAS / AFP)
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Israel Says Deported 'All Foreign Activists' from Gaza-bound Flotilla

A Palestinian flag is pictured against a background of smoke grenades during a gathering against the interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla by the Israeli Navy off the coast of Cyprus outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Athens on May 18, 2026. (Photo by Aggelos NAKKAS / AFP)
A Palestinian flag is pictured against a background of smoke grenades during a gathering against the interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla by the Israeli Navy off the coast of Cyprus outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Athens on May 18, 2026. (Photo by Aggelos NAKKAS / AFP)

Israel said it had deported on Thursday all the foreign activists seized by Israeli forces from a Gaza-bound flotilla, following global outcry over their treatment in custody.

"All foreign activists from the PR flotilla have been deported from Israel. Israel will not permit any breach of the lawful naval blockade on Gaza," said foreign ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein.

Earlier, western governments voiced outrage on Thursday after Israel’s far-right security minister posted a video of himself taunting Gaza-bound flotilla activists being pinned to the ground, with two later alleging ​they were physically assaulted in detention.

The activists' treatment by police officers under the direction of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also drew a rebuke from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and from the United States, Israel's staunchest ally.

The activists, whose vessel was intercepted on Wednesday in international waters by Israeli naval forces as they were trying to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, were expected to be deported from Israel on Thursday.

Across Europe, governments summoned Israeli ambassadors to condemn the video. Italy demanded an apology, Spain said it would not tolerate maltreatment of its citizens, and France demanded the release of all the detainees.

Britain's foreign ministry said the video "violates the most basic standards of respect and dignity for people", while Poland's foreign minister called for Ben-Gvir to be banned from entering the country.

The US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, said Ben-Gvir had "betrayed (the) dignity of his nation".

The outpouring of anger follows ‌the posting of campaign-style ‌videos by Ben-Gvir and at least one other minister in Netanyahu's government, transport chief Miri ​Regev, showing ‌them visiting ⁠the port ​and ⁠lambasting the protesters, attention-grabbing antics ahead of a potential early election in Israel

 

 

 

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Arab World

Yemen’s Armed Forces Say It Is Conducting Strikes Against Houthis in Sanaa

Yemen government soldiers ride in a pick-up truck near the Jabal Han front, west of the city of Taiz on October 3, 2026. (AFP)
Yemen government soldiers ride in a pick-up truck near the Jabal Han front, west of the city of Taiz on October 3, 2026. (AFP)
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Yemen’s Armed Forces Say It Is Conducting Strikes Against Houthis in Sanaa

Yemen government soldiers ride in a pick-up truck near the Jabal Han front, west of the city of Taiz on October 3, 2026. (AFP)
Yemen government soldiers ride in a pick-up truck near the Jabal Han front, west of the city of Taiz on October 3, 2026. (AFP)

Yemen's armed forces said early on Sunday it was conducting strikes against the Iran-aligned Houthis in the capital Sanaa and the group's stronghold Saada. 

A spokesperson for Yemen's armed forces, which ‌are aligned with ‌the legitimate government, ‌said ⁠forces were targeting "vital targets", without providing further details. 

The ‌conflict between the Iran-backed Houthis and forces aligned ‌with the government mostly ‌stopped after a 2022 truce, but fighting has broken out again in a spillover from the wider war between Iran ‌and the United States. 

Hostilities resumed this year after the ⁠Houthis ⁠escalated attacked in Yemen, making major territorial gains along the Red Sea coast. 

Earlier, government forces broke a new wave of Houthi attacks targeting the western front of the city of Taiz and forced the attackers to retreat.

This coincided with a broad escalation in air and artillery targeting operations that struck the group's positions, reinforcements, and supply lines across various fronts in the governorate.

The Iran-backed Houthi group has been exerting pressure for more than two weeks in an effort to encircle the city of Taiz from the south by seizing control of its countryside and isolating it from the liberated Yemeni regions toward Lahij and Aden.

It has also been trying to consolidate its gains in the West Coast and Bab al-Mandab regions by taking control of the highlands.

Armed Forces spokesperson Colonel Majid Al-Nuzaili said that the forces carried out 71 precise operations against Houthi gatherings, mobilizations, and reinforcements in the areas of Al-Aqrud, Samea, Al-Ahkoum, Al-Akboosh, Jabal Rasen, Jabal Jardad, Bani Omar, Bani Bakari, Al-Kaawish, and Al-Athawir.

He added that the operations resulted in the destruction of a number of hostile transport and support vehicles and the neutralization of militia elements, repelling their advance.

Arab World

'National Day' Stirs Debate over Independence in Iraq

Members of the Iraqi security forces stand guard near the Victory Arch monument during preparations for Sovereignty Day celebrations, marking the withdrawal of US-led coalition forces from Iraq, in Baghdad, Iraq, October 2, 2026. (Reuters)
Members of the Iraqi security forces stand guard near the Victory Arch monument during preparations for Sovereignty Day celebrations, marking the withdrawal of US-led coalition forces from Iraq, in Baghdad, Iraq, October 2, 2026. (Reuters)
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'National Day' Stirs Debate over Independence in Iraq

Members of the Iraqi security forces stand guard near the Victory Arch monument during preparations for Sovereignty Day celebrations, marking the withdrawal of US-led coalition forces from Iraq, in Baghdad, Iraq, October 2, 2026. (Reuters)
Members of the Iraqi security forces stand guard near the Victory Arch monument during preparations for Sovereignty Day celebrations, marking the withdrawal of US-led coalition forces from Iraq, in Baghdad, Iraq, October 2, 2026. (Reuters)

Senior officials in Iraq celebrated the National Day on October 3, which marks the country's independence from the British mandate and its entry into the League of Nations in 1932. The day has sparked debate over conflicting occasions in the official calendar.

President Nizar Amidi said in a statement that “on this day in 1932, Iraq became an independent state and a member of the League of Nations,” noting that “Iraqis have remained committed to their homeland despite the wars, crises, challenges, and difficulties they have endured.”

Meanwhile, government spokesperson Haider Al-Aboudi stressed that “on this occasion, the government renews its pledge that the decision of Iraqis remains in their own hands, and that sovereignty is manifested in security and a dignified life.”

Judge Faiq Zidan, head of the Supreme Judicial Council, also stressed that “the judiciary will remain a guarantee for rights and a fortress for justice,” adding that “the accelerating developments at this stage and the increasing challenges facing Iraq make it capable of protecting its present and shaping its future with deeply rooted institutions and an independent judiciary.”

British King Charles III and Emperor Naruhito of Japan both sent congratulatory cables to the Iraqi government on National Day, which does not receive significant political or public attention due to legislative and political disputes.

King Charles expressed his aspiration for continued cooperation between the two countries in facing shared challenges, particularly regarding climate, environmental preservation, and working together to find effective and sustainable solutions to these challenges.

Debate over ‘National Day’

For years, cultural and political elites have been engaged in a debate over a date that could achieve consensus as the country's National Day.

The former Baath regime had designated July 17 to commemorate its 1968 coup against the rule of the late Prime Minister Abdul Karim Qasim, while leftist factions used to celebrate the fall of the monarchy on July 14, 1958.

After 2003, leaders of opposition parties to the regime of the late President Saddam Hussein attempted to designate the day of his regime's fall, April 9, as a national holiday. The suggestion was rejected by the American civil administrator, Paul Bremer, according to Nabil al-Musawi, a leader in the Iraqi National Congress led by Ahmad Chalabi.

Later, during the government of former Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, it was agreed to designate October 3, 1932, as Iraq's National Day.

In a statement on Saturday, Kadhimi said that when his government chose October 3 as a national day to commemorate Iraq's accession to the League of Nations in 1932, he did not want it “to be just an occasion on the nation's calendar, but rather a day where Iraqis gather in love for their homeland and pride in their unifying national identity.”

Some Iraqi historians disagreed with the government, stating that October 3 should not be the National Day because, in their view, independence from the British mandate in 1932 was not complete.

Legal expert Ali al-Tamimi told Asharq Al-Awsat that October 3 is the only date that has a binding legal basis to serve as the country's National Day.

Al-Tamimi added that the legal philosophy behind this day is that it serves as international recognition of the completion of the components of the modern Iraqi state, including an independent government, fixed borders, financial resources, an independent judiciary, and international commitment, making Iraq the first Arab country to join the League of Nations.

Arab World

Hospital Says 5 People Killed in Gaza

Palestinians walk amid war-damaged buildings in Gaza City, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians walk amid war-damaged buildings in Gaza City, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
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Hospital Says 5 People Killed in Gaza

Palestinians walk amid war-damaged buildings in Gaza City, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians walk amid war-damaged buildings in Gaza City, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Israeli strikes overnight in Gaza killed five people, according to al-Shifa Hospital, where the casualties were taken. Four women were among the dead. A mother and daughter among them were Christians, a minority in Gaza, the hospital said,

A large fire burned at the site, where the strikes tore a gaping hole in the ground floor of a multistory building. The hospital said people were still reported missing beneath the debris.

Israel's military did not immediately comment, saying it was checking for information.

Israeli strikes have killed at least 1,439 Palestinians in Gaza since a ceasefire was reached with the Hamas militant group nearly a year ago, according to the territory’s Health Ministry. Its figures are seen as generally reliable by UN agencies and independent experts. It does not give a breakdown of civilians and militants.

Israel says it is targeting Hamas and other militants who pose a threat, and in response to ceasefire violations, including occasional attacks.