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Israel Deploys Iron Drone Batteries in Eilat amid Concerns of Iranian Attack

An Israeli Iron Dome defense system deployed in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights near the border with Syria, on May 7, 2018. (AFP)
An Israeli Iron Dome defense system deployed in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights near the border with Syria, on May 7, 2018. (AFP)
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Israel Deploys Iron Drone Batteries in Eilat amid Concerns of Iranian Attack

An Israeli Iron Dome defense system deployed in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights near the border with Syria, on May 7, 2018. (AFP)
An Israeli Iron Dome defense system deployed in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights near the border with Syria, on May 7, 2018. (AFP)

Israel deployed Iron Drone batteries around the southern Red Sea city of Eilat amid concerns of an attack from the Iran-backed Houthi militias in Yemen.

Military sources said that Tel Aviv takes very seriously the Iranian threats to avenge the killings of nuclear physicist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh in November and Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force Gen. Qassem Soleimani a year ago.

The sources predicted several scenarios, including a ballistic attack on Eilat, which is located at a distance of around 1,800 kilometers from Yemen.

They said Iran’s Revolutionary Guard recently provided the Houthis with cruise missiles with a range of 2,000 kms and Israel was ready to strongly respond to any attack.

The Iron Dome is an integral part of Israel’s multi-layered defense system. It is generally used against rockets and mortar shells, but can also intercept small drones and cruise missiles.

Last month, military spokesperson Hidai Zilberman said Israel was tracking Iranian movements around the region, and that Israeli submarines were quietly “sailing everywhere.”

Meanwhile, Israeli sources confirmed that two US B-52 bombers flew over its airspace on their way to the Gulf – the fourth flyover in the past two months – in a sign of deterrence against Iran.

Also, in a show of military strength from Washington in the region, a US Navy nuclear submarine passed through the Strait of Hormuz late last month and entered the Gulf.

Washington had also sent the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, which arrived in the Gulf in November.

In December, the head of US Central Command (Centcom) said Washington is “prepared to react” if Iran carries out an attack to mark one year since the killing of Soleimani.

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World

Ukraine Reports Battlefield Clashes, Drone Strikes Despite Ceasefire

In this photo provided by Ukraine's 93rd Kholodnyi Yar Separate Mechanized Brigade press service, a Ukrainian soldier prepares an FPV drone to fire towards Russian positions in Druzhkivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Thursday, May 7, 2026. (Iryna Rybakova/Ukraine's 93rd Mechanized Brigade via AP)
In this photo provided by Ukraine's 93rd Kholodnyi Yar Separate Mechanized Brigade press service, a Ukrainian soldier prepares an FPV drone to fire towards Russian positions in Druzhkivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Thursday, May 7, 2026. (Iryna Rybakova/Ukraine's 93rd Mechanized Brigade via AP)
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Ukraine Reports Battlefield Clashes, Drone Strikes Despite Ceasefire

In this photo provided by Ukraine's 93rd Kholodnyi Yar Separate Mechanized Brigade press service, a Ukrainian soldier prepares an FPV drone to fire towards Russian positions in Druzhkivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Thursday, May 7, 2026. (Iryna Rybakova/Ukraine's 93rd Mechanized Brigade via AP)
In this photo provided by Ukraine's 93rd Kholodnyi Yar Separate Mechanized Brigade press service, a Ukrainian soldier prepares an FPV drone to fire towards Russian positions in Druzhkivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Thursday, May 7, 2026. (Iryna Rybakova/Ukraine's 93rd Mechanized Brigade via AP)

Ukrainian officials reported ‌on Sunday Russian drone strikes and nearly 150 battlefield clashes over the past 24 hours despite a US-brokered ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow.

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to a three-day ceasefire from May 9 to May 11, as a broader peace effort to end the more than four-year-old war has stalled.

One person was killed ‌and three ‌people were wounded in Russian strikes ‌on ⁠Ukraine's southeastern Zaporizhzhia ⁠region, governor Ivan Fedorov said on Sunday morning.

In the northeastern Kharkiv region, governor Oleh Syniehubov said eight people, including two children, were wounded in drone attacks on the regional capital and nearby settlements.

Seven people including a child were ⁠wounded in the southern Kherson region ‌by Russian drone ‌and artillery strikes since early Saturday, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin ‌said on Sunday.

A child was also wounded ‌and infrastructure damaged in Russian attacks on the southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region, said regional head Oleksandr Hanzha.

Separately, Kyiv's air force said Russia had launched 27 long-range drones ‌at Ukraine overnight - a lower number than usual - but that air defenses had ⁠downed ⁠all of them.

In its morning report, Ukraine's General Staff said 147 clashes had taken place along the front line.

Despite the reports, Ukrainian officials have not publicly commented on any violations of the US-brokered ceasefire, which was also meant to include a swap of 1,000 prisoners of war from each side.

Earlier this week, Russia and Ukraine had each announced separate ceasefires - starting on Friday and Wednesday respectively - but quickly accused one another of breaking them.

World

Feared Iran Oil Slick Smaller, May Be from Infrastructure, Says Group

This satellite image obtained from Copernicus Sentinel Data 2026 on May 8, 2026, appears to show an oil slick spreading off the coast of Kharg Island, a key oil export terminal for Iran. (Handout / Copernicus Sentinel Data 2026 / AFP)
This satellite image obtained from Copernicus Sentinel Data 2026 on May 8, 2026, appears to show an oil slick spreading off the coast of Kharg Island, a key oil export terminal for Iran. (Handout / Copernicus Sentinel Data 2026 / AFP)
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Feared Iran Oil Slick Smaller, May Be from Infrastructure, Says Group

This satellite image obtained from Copernicus Sentinel Data 2026 on May 8, 2026, appears to show an oil slick spreading off the coast of Kharg Island, a key oil export terminal for Iran. (Handout / Copernicus Sentinel Data 2026 / AFP)
This satellite image obtained from Copernicus Sentinel Data 2026 on May 8, 2026, appears to show an oil slick spreading off the coast of Kharg Island, a key oil export terminal for Iran. (Handout / Copernicus Sentinel Data 2026 / AFP)

Iran's oil infrastructure may be the source of a suspected slick off a key island export terminal, but satellite images showed it was "much reduced" Saturday, an environmental group said.

Satellite images in past days appeared to show an oil slick spreading off the coast of Iran’s Kharg Island.

It was not immediately clear what had caused the apparent spill off the west coast of the small Gulf island.

"The cause and origin of the slick remain unknown and cannot be determined conclusively from the available imagery alone," a UK-based non-governmental organization, the Conflict and Environment Observatory, told AFP.

"While offshore infrastructure in the wider area could be a potential source, we are unable to identify a definitive point of origin or attribute the spill to a specific cause at this time," said Leon Moreland from the observatory.

But he added "the slick appears visually consistent with oil based on analysis" of imagery from the Copernicus Data Space browser.

Some media reports, including by Fox News, suggested Iran's oil storage facilities may be coming under strain as a US naval blockade disrupts the country's ability to export or store crude.

Moussa Ahmadi, head of the Iranian parliament's energy commission, told ISNA news agency on Saturday there was "no official report so far confirming" that Iran's oil facility was leaking due to strained storage facilities.

"Production in various oil fields in the country continues incessantly and without any problem," he said.

Earlier, Jafar Pourkabgani, a lawmaker representing the coastal city of Bushehr, dismissed the reports as "false".

"The stains observed in satellite images around the resilient Kharg Island are related to oil and ballast water waste from oil tankers, which was dumped into the sea by a European oil tanker to the detriment of the environment," he said, according to state television.

Moreland said there was "no obvious evidence of additional active spills around the island, although the earlier slick can still be observed moving south".

Copernicus images on Saturday appeared to show that the suspected slick was "much reduced" from the first pictures seen on Wednesday, the observatory added.

It put the spread of the original slick at about 44 square kilometers (17 square miles).

But Orbital EOS, which monitors oil spills, told The New York Times the spill appeared to cover more than 20 square miles (52 square kilometers) as of Thursday.

Kharg Island is at the heart of Iran's oil export industry, a lynchpin of the country's battered economy. It sits off Iran's Gulf coast, hundreds of kilometers northwest of the narrow, strategic Strait of Hormuz.

Iran largely closed the strait at the start of its conflict with the United States and Israel on February 28. The United States has since imposed a blockade of Iranian ports. Many tankers are stranded in the area as a result of both blockades.

World

14 Dead in Pakistan Suicide Attack. Pakistan Taliban Splinter Group Claims Blast

A worker clear rubble with an excavator as a police officer and local residents gather at the site of overnight suicide bombing at a security post in Fatah Khel, in Bannu, a district in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Aamad Khattak)
A worker clear rubble with an excavator as a police officer and local residents gather at the site of overnight suicide bombing at a security post in Fatah Khel, in Bannu, a district in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Aamad Khattak)
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14 Dead in Pakistan Suicide Attack. Pakistan Taliban Splinter Group Claims Blast

A worker clear rubble with an excavator as a police officer and local residents gather at the site of overnight suicide bombing at a security post in Fatah Khel, in Bannu, a district in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Aamad Khattak)
A worker clear rubble with an excavator as a police officer and local residents gather at the site of overnight suicide bombing at a security post in Fatah Khel, in Bannu, a district in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Aamad Khattak)

The death toll from a suicide attack on a security post in northwest Pakistan rose to 14 police officers, authorities said early Sunday. A self-proclaimed breakaway group of the Pakistan Taliban has claimed the attack.

A suicide bomber and several gunmen detonated an explosives-laden vehicle near the post in Bannu, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, late Saturday, said senior police official Sajjad Khan. The attack triggered an intense shootout, and some officers were killed in the exchange, while others died later after the building collapsed.

Rescuers conducted an hourslong search operation using heavy machinery to retrieve bodies from under the rubble, Khan said, adding that three police officers were wounded in the attack, The Associated Press said.

Security forces have also launched an operation to track down the perpetrators.

A newly formed militant group, Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement sent to reporters. While the group claims it was formed by splinter factions of the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, authorities have accused it of being a front for the TTP.

Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant violence in recent years, much of it blamed on the TTP, a separate group but an ally of the Afghan Taliban, who returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021.

Islamabad often accuses Afghanistan’s Taliban government of providing sanctuary to the TTP, a claim that Kabul denies.

Tensions between the two neighbors have persisted, and both sides have engaged in fighting that has killed hundreds of people since late February.

In early April, Afghan and Pakistani officials held peace talks mediated by China. However, despite the talks, sporadic cross-border clashes have continued, though at a lower intensity than before.