Yemen’s Houthis launch first attack since conflict began

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have attacked Israel for the first time since the start of the Israel-US war on Iran, which enters a second month. The Houthis said the attack came after continued targeting of infrastructure in Iran, Lebanon, Iraq and the Palestinian territories, adding that their operations would continue until the “aggression” on all fronts ends.

Pakistan is preparing to host talks with officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt aimed at ending the war. Foreign ministers will attend the talks on Sunday in Islamabad. Pakistan did not say if officials from the US or Iran are involved, reports The Guardian.

Pakistan’s prime minister Shehbaz Sharif said he has held “extensive discussions” with Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian. Discussing ongoing hostilities in the Middle East, Sharif said Pezeshkian was briefed on Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts to engage the US as well as Gulf and other Islamic nations during the conversation that lasted more than an hour.

Elsewhere in the region, drones struck the airport in Kuwait, damaging its radar, and the key port of Salalah in Oman. Kuwait did not say where the drones came from, while Iran acknowledged an attack near the Omani port, claiming to have targeted a US “military support vessel” there.

Authorities in Abu Dhabi said falling debris from a missile interception injured six people. The UAE’s defence ministry said its forces were intercepting missile and drone attacks from Iran.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country and the UAE have agreed to “cooperate in the field of security and defence”. During an unannounced visit to Abu Dhabi, Zelenskyy said he and the Emirati president, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, reviewed the security situation in the UAE, focusing on Iranian strikes and the blockade of the strait of Hormuz.

Israel carried out dawn airstrikes on several towns in southern Lebanon, state media reported, while Hezbollah announced attacks on Israeli forces. The Israeli military has issued a new order for people in several villages near the town of Tyre in southern Lebanon to flee the area and move north, as it escalates its efforts to uproot the Iran-backed militant group.