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Jordan King to Visit Ramallah to Ease Tension Ahead of Ramadan

Israeli forces prevent Palestinians from reaching their lands near Ramallah (Wafa)
Israeli forces prevent Palestinians from reaching their lands near Ramallah (Wafa)
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Jordan King to Visit Ramallah to Ease Tension Ahead of Ramadan

Israeli forces prevent Palestinians from reaching their lands near Ramallah (Wafa)
Israeli forces prevent Palestinians from reaching their lands near Ramallah (Wafa)

Jordan's King Abdullah II will visit Ramallah soon to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in an attempt to contain a possible escalation during Ramadan month, according to the official Kan Channel.

Kan said that the monarch plans to come to Ramallah on the eve of Ramadan and meet Abbas, who will have returned from a visit to Germany.

The last time the Jordanian king visited Ramallah was five years ago.

The report stated that Amman fears new escalations and tensions during Ramadan, especially in Jerusalem.

The issue was a top priority on King Abdullah's agenda when he hosted Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid last week in Amman.

"We agreed that we must work together to calm tensions and promote understanding, particularly in the lead-up to the month of Ramadan and Passover," Lapid said in a statement after the meeting.

A PA official asserted that the Authority has no interest in escalation, but Israel is pushing for it. He noted that Tel Aviv said it was trying to ensure calm, but nothing has been implemented on the ground.

The official stated that if Israel wanted to prevent any escalation, it must prevent Jews from entering the Temple Mount throughout Ramadan month, even though it will coincide with the Jewish Passover.

Israel tends to allow settlers to storm al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan month.

On Tuesday, Israeli Minister of Internal Security Omar Bar-Lev said that Jews would be allowed to enter the Temple Mount during Ramadan.

Bar-Lev said Jews will be free to enter the Temple Mount as always, and Palestinian political and religious officials issued calls to mobilize and protect al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan.

Palestinian worshipers usually stay in the al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan month and refuse to allow extremist Jews, which could lead to severe escalations.

Hamas said that the Palestinian people could defend Jerusalem and al-Aqsa Mosque.

The movement's politburo member, Harun Nassereddine, stressed that the occupation would not be able to pass its plans against Jerusalem and the Mosque as long as the resistance is ready to confront it.

Earlier, Hamas and the Islamic Jihad issued a joint statement warning there would be dire consequences if extremist Jewish groups dared to desecrate the Aqsa Mosque to celebrate the Purim festival.

Violent clashes erupted near Ramallah between the Israeli army and Palestinian demonstrators, in which 54 civilians were injured after security forces stormed the Qalandia refugee camp north of Jerusalem.

The West Bank witnessed a series of operations in the past few weeks, which reinforced previous Israeli assessments about the possibility of a significant escalation during the coming three months.

In a meeting, senior security officials decided to reinforce the police and security forces in all Palestinian areas.

Last week, the head of the Shin Bet Ronen Bar discussed in Washington with the FBI Director Christopher Wray and senior officials the situation in the Palestinian territories.

Bar warned of a possible security escalation during Ramadan month.

Channel 12 warned that the coinciding Jewish and Palestinian religious and national events could lead to tensions and escalations.

The increased Israeli assessments have prompted the army to increase its arrest campaigns in the West Bank in recent weeks, aiming to limit reasons for possible intensifications.

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Arab World

Libya's NOC Reports Drone Attack Attempt at Fuel Depot

No casualties ‌were reported and the incident ‌did not impact supply operations. (EPA file)
No casualties ‌were reported and the incident ‌did not impact supply operations. (EPA file)
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Libya's NOC Reports Drone Attack Attempt at Fuel Depot

No casualties ‌were reported and the incident ‌did not impact supply operations. (EPA file)
No casualties ‌were reported and the incident ‌did not impact supply operations. (EPA file)

A remote-controlled drone attack targeted a fuel depot in Libya's capital Tripoli on Thursday, causing minor damage, the state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC) said in a statement.

The NOC said that technical teams had begun drawing fuel from the tanks to reduce the fuel level as a ‌precaution.

There was ‌no immediate claim of ‌responsibility ⁠and authorities did not ⁠say who they believed was behind the attack.

The attack caused minor damage to some pipelines and tanks no. 213 and 220 due to falling shrapnel, said Ahmed Al-Masallati, ⁠spokesperson for Brega Petroleum ‌Marketing, which is ‌in charge of Libya's fuel supplies.

No casualties ‌were reported and the incident ‌did not impact supply operations.

Libyan oil facilities have been subject to repeated attacks and closures for various political and technical ‌reasons since the 2011 uprising that toppled Maammar al-Gaddafi and ⁠set ⁠off a prolonged period of chaos.

In August, fuel storage tanks at the nearby Zawiya oil complex, in western Tripoli, were targeted by several explosive-laden drone strikes that hit one of the tanks and completely burned it.

Attempts to target oil facilities represent "a direct threat to the supply system," the NOC said in the statement.

Arab World

Houthis Escalate Attacks Across Taiz, Yemen’s Western Coast

The navigation bridge of a sunken vessel is all that is seen at the surface of the water in the Port of Mokha the day after an attack by the Houthis on the city Mokha, held by Yemen's legitimate government on August 10, 2026. (AFP)
The navigation bridge of a sunken vessel is all that is seen at the surface of the water in the Port of Mokha the day after an attack by the Houthis on the city Mokha, held by Yemen's legitimate government on August 10, 2026. (AFP)
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Houthis Escalate Attacks Across Taiz, Yemen’s Western Coast

The navigation bridge of a sunken vessel is all that is seen at the surface of the water in the Port of Mokha the day after an attack by the Houthis on the city Mokha, held by Yemen's legitimate government on August 10, 2026. (AFP)
The navigation bridge of a sunken vessel is all that is seen at the surface of the water in the Port of Mokha the day after an attack by the Houthis on the city Mokha, held by Yemen's legitimate government on August 10, 2026. (AFP)

The Iran-backed Houthi group stepped up military operations on several fronts west of Yemen’s Taiz governorate and along the Red Sea coast on Thursday.

Houthis fired more than 12 ballistic missiles at rural areas in Taiz and Hodeidah governorates as fierce clashes erupted with government forces and the National Resistance in Maqbanah, al-Kadha, al-Tuwair and Ghabari.

Military sources said the fighting began in the early hours of Thursday when the Houthis launched a broad assault on government and National Resistance positions across several sectors. The attack developed into direct clashes and artillery exchanges that lasted for hours.

The group fired hundreds of artillery and mortar rounds during the assault and deployed drones in combat operations, the sources said. The fighting spread to hills overlooking the al-Aqma area in Mawza district, where brigades affiliated with the National Resistance are stationed.

The Houthis seized several positions during the opening hours of the attack before government forces, fighters from Taiz and the National Resistance launched a counterattack and recaptured a number of them, according to military sources.

The sources said the ballistic missiles had no effect on government forces’ battlefield operations. Most of the Houthi missile strikes targeted areas around vital facilities and civilian and military supply routes, causing panic among residents.

Government forces suffered deaths and injuries, while the Houthis also sustained casualties, the sources said, without providing figures for either side. Four Houthi fighters were reportedly captured.

Reports from the Joint Operations Room said air-defense systems and military formations on the Red Sea coast were “maintaining a high level of vigilance in confronting these repeated missile threats, which have become the group’s most prominent means of trying to offset its successive battlefield losses.”

The reports said the attacks were also intended to send a message linked to regional developments around the Red Sea shipping corridor and strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

The missile attacks coincided with an attempted infiltration and ground assault by Houthi fighters against government positions in al-Kadha, west of Taiz.

Three drones downed

Government forces said they shot down three Houthi drones flying over subdistricts in Jabal Habashi district as fighting continued on fronts west of Taiz.

Military sources said the drones were intercepted as the group continued using unmanned aircraft to attack government and National Resistance positions. Clashes persisted in several sectors as forces deployed reinforcements to combat positions.

The ground escalation coincided with a new wave of Houthi missile strikes on the Red Sea coast. The group fired more than 12 ballistic missiles toward several areas east and north of the city of Mokha, as well as areas in Hodeidah’s Khokha district.

Local sources said the missiles were launched from Houthi-held positions in Ibb governorate and from al-Hawban and Sharab, east and north of Taiz. One missile caused a fire on the northern outskirts of Mokha.

The National Resistance’s military media office said the Houthis fired eight ballistic missiles toward rural areas around Mokha, while a ninth landed south of Khokha district. Local sources said three more missiles were launched shortly afterward.

Red Sea coast targeted

The missile strikes coincided with fighting on the Maqbanah and al-Kadha fronts west of Taiz, while air defenses operated by the “Taiz Military Axis” responded to drones launched by the group during the assault.

The escalation came hours after the Houthis targeted residential areas, the vicinity of camps for displaced people and front-line positions in Taiz, where fighting has intensified steadily since August.

Government forces and the National Resistance have continued to repel Houthi attacks across western Taiz and the Red Sea coast as the group persists in using ballistic missiles, drones and artillery.

The simultaneous broad ground assault and missile strikes point to an expansion of the Houthi escalation in the region, which has seen repeated attacks on military positions and areas near residential communities and civilian facilities.

Government forces in Marib and al-Dhale governorates carried out strikes on Wednesday targeting Houthi positions, gatherings and vehicles, and released footage of the operations.

Arab World

Syria Says Begun Destroying Assad-Era Chemical Weapon Materials

Syrian Ambassador to the United Nations Ibrahim Olabi addresses the Security Council during the meeting on the situation in the Middle East, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, February 18, 2026. (Reuters)
Syrian Ambassador to the United Nations Ibrahim Olabi addresses the Security Council during the meeting on the situation in the Middle East, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, February 18, 2026. (Reuters)
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Syria Says Begun Destroying Assad-Era Chemical Weapon Materials

Syrian Ambassador to the United Nations Ibrahim Olabi addresses the Security Council during the meeting on the situation in the Middle East, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, February 18, 2026. (Reuters)
Syrian Ambassador to the United Nations Ibrahim Olabi addresses the Security Council during the meeting on the situation in the Middle East, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, February 18, 2026. (Reuters)

Syria has begun the process of destroying chemical weapon materials identified by an international watchdog, the country's UN envoy said Thursday, signaling a major step forward since the 2024 ouster of autocratic leader Bashar al-Assad.

"This is the very first destruction process since we have been liberated from the previous regime," Ibrahim Olabi told the Security Council. "It's also the first of its kind to destroy chemical materials on Syrian territory for over a decade."

In 2021, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) took the unprecedented step of stripping Syria of its voting rights after finding its air force had used nerve agent sarin and chlorine gas on its own people.

But since Assad's overthrow, the new authorities in Damascus have vowed to cooperate with the OPCW to destroy the chemical weapons the former president was repeatedly accused of using during Syria's 13-year civil war.

"We aim at protecting the Syrian people so that such weapons will not fall into the wrong hands," Olabi said Thursday.

He added that his country was "also protecting the world and the region through such work. Every site that is secured, every ammunition that is identified, does not merely remove a danger to Syria, but the entire world."