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Arab Coalition Strikes Kill 140 Houthi Militants

An officer in the Yemeni army carries his weapon on the frontlines, in the fight against the Iranian-backed Houthi militias near Marib. (AP)
An officer in the Yemeni army carries his weapon on the frontlines, in the fight against the Iranian-backed Houthi militias near Marib. (AP)
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Arab Coalition Strikes Kill 140 Houthi Militants

An officer in the Yemeni army carries his weapon on the frontlines, in the fight against the Iranian-backed Houthi militias near Marib. (AP)
An officer in the Yemeni army carries his weapon on the frontlines, in the fight against the Iranian-backed Houthi militias near Marib. (AP)

The Saudi-led Arab coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen continues to support the Yemeni national army to fight the Iran-backed Houthi militias in the oil-rich Marib province.

More than 140 Houthi militants were killed and 14 military vehicles got destroyed in 28 operations in Marib and al-Jawf during the past 24 hours, the coalition announced, the Saudi Press Agency.
reported.

Also, the Yemeni army announced the death of its commander outside the central city of Marib.

Gen. Nasser al-Thaybani died while commanding government troops who were fighting off Houthi incursions into the strategic al-Balaq mountain range that overlooks part of the city, the army said.

The Ministry of Defense and the Chief of Staff mourned Thaybani in a statement, noting that he “was killed while performing his national duty to defend the republican system and national gains and lead the battles to confront Houthis on the outskirts of Marib Governorate.”

“Thaybani was one of the loyal leaders who sacrificed their lives and time to the homeland, and was one of the first officers to answer the call of duty and defend Yemen’s honor.”

The late commander led several liberation battles in Marib, al-Jawf, al-Bayda, Sanaa and Shabwa governorates, the statement added.

The ministry vowed to carry on its military operations “until the desired national goals are fully achieved and Yemen restores its sovereignty and security and defeats the schemes and ambitions of Iranian terrorism and its vengeful militias that threaten the security of Yemen and the region.”

On Sunday, the Arab Coalition said it had carried out 35 operations targeting the militias in Marib, during which more than 200 militants were killed and 21 military vehicles were destroyed.

“We carried out three targeted operations in the western coast to support the coastal forces and protect civilians. The western coast operations targeted two military vehicles and eliminated more than 15 terrorists,” the coalition said in a series of tweets carried out by SPA.

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Arab World

Gaza Health Officials Say 4 Killed in Israeli Strikes, Including Child

People operate on a destroyed vehicle following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza city, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. (AP)
People operate on a destroyed vehicle following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza city, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. (AP)
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Gaza Health Officials Say 4 Killed in Israeli Strikes, Including Child

People operate on a destroyed vehicle following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza city, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. (AP)
People operate on a destroyed vehicle following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza city, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. (AP)

Gaza's health officials said on Saturday that Israeli fire killed at least four people in the Palestinian territory, including a 10-year-old girl and the son of a top government official.

A statement from Gaza's health ministry, which operates under Hamas authority, said that the child "succumbed to wounds sustained this morning from Israeli army fire north of the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip".

An airstrike also killed Baseer al-Barsh, the son of Munir al-Barsh who serves as director-general of Gaza's health ministry, in an encampment for displaced people in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, the ministry said.

Speaking during his son's funeral, Munir Al-Bursh said the killing was "a continuation of (Israel's) crimes", according to a ministry statement.

In addition, two Palestinians were killed and several others injured in two separate strikes near Gaza City, according to Gaza's al-Shifa hospital and the territory's civil defense, a rescue agency operating under Hamas authority.

The Israeli army did not immediately respond to an AFP inquiry on the strikes.

Israel in October last year agreed to a ceasefire brokered by the United States but since then has advanced further into Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed no let-up in strikes targeting Hamas, which led the unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack against Israel, and no pullout from Gaza until Hamas gives up all of its weapons.

The 2023 attack killed 1,221 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. The gunmen also dragged into Gaza some 251 hostages, 44 of them already dead.

The massive Israeli offensive in response has left most of Gaza in ruins and killed more than 73,800 people, according to the Gaza health ministry, which is under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.

Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,300 people since the ceasefire was announced last year, according to the Gaza health ministry, whose figures are considered generally reliable by the United Nations.

The Israeli army has identified five deaths in its ranks over the same period, as well as the death of one civilian contractor.

Arab World

Syria Says Arrested Assad-Era General Who Led Attacks on Opposition

Former Major General Ahmed Mohammad Ismail after his arrest. (Syrian Internal Security Forces)
Former Major General Ahmed Mohammad Ismail after his arrest. (Syrian Internal Security Forces)
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Syria Says Arrested Assad-Era General Who Led Attacks on Opposition

Former Major General Ahmed Mohammad Ismail after his arrest. (Syrian Internal Security Forces)
Former Major General Ahmed Mohammad Ismail after his arrest. (Syrian Internal Security Forces)

Syrian authorities on Saturday said they arrested a general who served under the rule of ousted president Bashar al-Assad, saying he led operations against formerly opposition-held areas during the country's 13-year civil war.

In a statement, security forces announced "the arrest of former Major General Ahmed Mohammad Ismail, a high-ranking commander in the Republican Guard of the former regime's army".

Military records indicate that "he began his service as a platoon commander, then served as a company commander in the 2nd Battalion of the 101st Airborne Regiment. He was subsequently promoted, at the beginning of 2016, to Chief of Operations of the same regiment, and directly participated in commanding military assaults on the cities of Aleppo and Daraa, as well as on Eastern Ghouta."

Located near Damascus, Eastern Ghouta was an opposition stronghold during the civil war until 2018, and the site of a major chemical attack five years prior.

US intelligence says more than 1,000 people were killed with sarin nerve gas in the suburb of the Syrian capital Damascus, in 2013 during Syria's civil war.

The attack was attributed to the Syrian government under the rule of Assad, who was toppled in late 2024.

The government at the time denied involvement and blamed the opposition factions.

Since Assad was overthrown in December 2024, Syria's new authorities have arrested dozens of former security officials, while trials began in April.

Earlier this month Syrian authorities said they had arrested nine former pilots including three generals accused of taking part in lethal bombings of towns and villages under Assad's rule.

Syria sentenced Bashar al-Assad, his brother Maher, and five other security officials to death in absentia in August for atrocities committed during the civil war.

The former president fled Syria as his government fell and is believed to be living in Russia.

Arab World

UN Peacekeeping Chief in Lebanon Says Smooth Transition Is Critical Before Pullout

Head of Mission and Force Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Major General Diodato Abagnara of the Italian Army at the UNIFIL base, near Mansouri, Southern Lebanon, September 19, 2026. (Reuters)
Head of Mission and Force Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Major General Diodato Abagnara of the Italian Army at the UNIFIL base, near Mansouri, Southern Lebanon, September 19, 2026. (Reuters)
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UN Peacekeeping Chief in Lebanon Says Smooth Transition Is Critical Before Pullout

Head of Mission and Force Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Major General Diodato Abagnara of the Italian Army at the UNIFIL base, near Mansouri, Southern Lebanon, September 19, 2026. (Reuters)
Head of Mission and Force Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Major General Diodato Abagnara of the Italian Army at the UNIFIL base, near Mansouri, Southern Lebanon, September 19, 2026. (Reuters)

The head of United Nations peacekeepers in Lebanon said on Saturday it was critical to ensure other UN agencies and Lebanese troops could assume the tasks carried out by the force before it begins withdrawing at the end of this year.

Major General Diodato Abagnara of Italy spoke to Reuters in southern Lebanon at a position operated by the UN peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL, which has been monitoring hostilities in southern Lebanon for nearly 50 years.

Since a new war erupted between Israel and Iran-backed Lebanese armed ‌group Hezbollah in ‌March, the force has also provided security escorts for humanitarian aid ‌convoys ⁠to residents in a ⁠small cluster of predominantly Christian southern Lebanese towns now encircled by Israeli troops. Residents in much of the rest of southern Lebanon have been forcibly displaced by Israeli strikes and evacuation orders.

The UN Security Council has ordered UNIFIL to begin withdrawing at the end of 2026, triggering concerns over whether aid deliveries can continue and how the force can transfer its positions to Lebanese troops.

“There are other United Nations entities here in the south, and so what is ⁠very important for us (is) to conduct a very smooth transition to ‌different entities, or for the future of a new ‌mission,” Abagnara told Reuters.

He said UNIFIL was already working with the UN’s country team to ensure ‌humanitarian assistance in Israeli-occupied areas and information sharing with the Lebanese army about “sensitive areas (and) how ‌they can manage this situation.”

Abagnara acknowledged that it could be “very difficult” to hand over some of UNIFIL's posts to Lebanese troops given that more than half lie within areas now controlled by Israeli troops.

ISRAEL DEMOLISHES TOWN NEAR UN POST

Diplomats worry UNIFIL’s departure will mean an end to the UN's "eyes and ‌ears" in southern Lebanon.

Abagnara spoke to Reuters at a position overlooking Mansouri, a town where Israeli forces have been carrying out demolitions ⁠since ordering residents ⁠to leave in June, despite a ceasefire. Reuters reporters could see excavators in the town knocking down trees and multi-storey homes.

Abagnara described demolitions as “another violation” of UN Security Council resolutions on Lebanon. Israel's military has said it is destroying Hezbollah infrastructure across southern Lebanon.

As a US-backed plan for Lebanon's army to disarm Hezbollah and take control of southern Lebanon has stalled, a diplomatic scramble is underway to address the vacuum that will be left by UNIFIL’s withdrawal.

Lebanon wants an extension. Other countries have discussed a new multinational mission, though it remains unclear what kind of mandate it would have.

Abagnara said an extension would be “a great honor” but that without a new Security Council decision, his force would need to stop operating at the end of the year.

“It's not a long time," he said. "The presence of United Nations in the South is very, very essential. And according to me, more now than ever.”