LiveLive Updates July 16, 2026Share to FacebookShare to XArticle printing is available to subscribers onlyPrint in a simple, ad-free formatSubscribeComments: Zen reading is available to subscribers onlyAd-free and in a comfortable reading formatSubscribeJuly 16, 2026UpdatesIranian media report U.S. strikes near Bandar Abbas, Qeshm Island Iranian news agencies reported Thursday that U.S. missiles and projectiles struck two locations along Iran's coast.Mehr News Agency reported that U.S. projectiles struck near Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz. Fars News Agency reported that U.S. missiles struck near the port city of Bandar Abbas.Houthi leader threatens Saudi oil facilities if Riyadh escalates in YemenYemen's Houthi ⁠leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi ‌said on Thursday that all Saudi oil ‌and other vital facilities would be targets for the ⁠group's missiles and drones if Riyadh escalated its involvement in ⁠the conflict. Vehicles pass under a billboard showing Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi, in Sanaa, Yemen, in June. Credit: Osamah Abdulrahman/AP Vehicles pass under a billboard showing Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi, in Sanaa, Yemen, in June. Credit: Osamah Abdulrahman/AP "The real equation is Sanaa airport for Riyadh airport, airports for airports, ports for ports, and blockade ‌for blockade," he said in ⁠a televised speech.The warning came after the Houthis fired missiles at Saudi Arabia, accusing the kingdom of bombing an airport under their control on Monday, marking a rupture in ‌a four-year truce between the two sides.The Iran-aligned Houthis ‌have previously targeted Saudi energy infrastructure. In 2019, they claimed responsibility for attacks on two key Saudi oil facilities that temporarily knocked out more than half of the kingdom's crude output.In 2022, they struck Saudi energy facilities again. At the time, the Saudi-led coalition said an Aramco petroleum products distribution station in Jeddah was hit and caught ⁠fire.Yemen has been mired ‌in civil war for more than a decade since the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, prompting a Saudi-led military intervention ⁠in 2015 in support of the internationally recognised government.The conflict has since evolved into one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, leaving the country divided between ‌a Saudi-backed government in Aden and a Houthi administration in Sanaa.About 200 ultra-Orthodox protestors block central Israeli highway Ultra-Orthodox protestors block a highway near Petah Tikvah, central Israel, Thursday. Credit: Moti MilrodUltra-Orthodox protestors block a highway near Petah Tikvah, central Israel, Thursday. Credit: Moti MilrodAbout 200 ultra-Orthodox demonstrators blocked a major highway near central Israel's Petah Tikva in protest against the arrests of draft evaders. Police detained one demonstrator on suspicion of threats and public disorder. Police declared the demonstrations illegal and attempted to redirect dozens of vehicles stranded by the roadblocks. The protesters then blocked one of the alternate routes police had directed traffic toward.Clashes broke out between protesters and motorists. The demonstrators, many of them minors, smashed the side mirrors of a vehicle that attempted to drive through the protest. They chanted, "To Auschwitz, and not to the army" and "To Auschwitz and not to Hashmonaim," referring to the Israeli military's ultra-Orthodox Hashmonaim Brigade. Police arrived at the scene about 20 minutes later.Separately, six women demonstrated against the ultra-Orthodox protesters. They held signs reading, "Woman, not second class," and "Women, enough is enough."'Fuck off': Sailors reject U.S. assertion that Strait of Hormuz remains open, report saysA tugboat guides a ship at the Khor Fakkan Container Terminal, along the Gulf of Oman on Tuesday. Credit: AFPA tugboat guides a ship at the Khor Fakkan Container Terminal, along the Gulf of Oman on Tuesday. Credit: AFPSailors on vessels near the Strait of Hormuz expressed frustration with the U.S. military after it radioed a message Tuesday asserting the southern route through the strait "remains open," The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.According to the report, U.S. forces said the United States was "prepared to maintain freedom of navigation and safeguard lawful commerce in accordance with international law."In recordings reviewed by the newspaper, one sailor responded over the radio, telling the forces to "fuck off."The United Arab Emirates said Monday that Iranian cruise missiles struck two Emirati oil tankers transiting the southern lane of the strait in Omani territorial waters, killing one crew member and wounding eight others.Pakistan worries about being drawn into U.S.-Iran conflict after Houthis attack Saudi Arabia An explosion at the Sanaa International Airport compound during what the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said were several Saudi airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, Monday. Credit: AP An explosion at the Sanaa International Airport compound during what the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said were several Saudi airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, Monday. Credit: AP Attacks on Saudi Arabia by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis this week have frustrated Pakistan and threaten to draw Islamabad into ‌the conflict, complicating any future role it may have as a mediator between the United States and Iran. "Our top civil and military leaders have conveyed to Iran at the highest level that the attacks on Saudi Arabia are attacks on Pakistan," a Pakistani official told Reuters. "It ‌is our red line."Nuclear-armed Pakistan, which helped broker an interim deal last month in the war between Washington and ⁠Tehran, signed a mutual defence agreement with Saudi Arabia last year and thousands of Pakistani soldiers have been deployed to the kingdom, alongside a squadron of fighter jets. Pakistan had already voiced anger about Iranian strikes on ⁠Saudi Arabia earlier this year, but regional analysts and officials said the attacks this week had pushed Islamabad's frustration with Iran to a new level as they raised the prospect of a new Saudi-Houthi conflict. The Houthis fired missiles at Saudi Arabia after accusing the kingdom of bombing an airport under their control on Monday. The cross-border fire pierced a four-year truce but has so far been contained to a single incident.Pakistan's frustration appears rooted in growing concerns that Houthi involvement may be more likely to draw Pakistan into the conflict than the Iranian missile strikes were earlier this year. Pakistani soldiers are deployed near the Saudi border with Yemen, two Pakistani officials said, increasing their direct exposure. There are also concerns in Islamabad that a Houthi-led escalation could disrupt shipping in the Red Sea, an important trade route that Pakistan and many other countries depend on. A widening conflict there could be more difficult to contain and could target Saudi interests in a way that forces Pakistan to intervene militarily under the terms of its mutual defence pact.Israel isn't attacking Iran, but it's deeply involved in this war Iranian ships in the strait of Hormuz, through a U.S. camera. Credit: CENTCOM via ReutersIranian ships in the strait of Hormuz, through a U.S. camera. Credit: CENTCOM via ReutersThe round of fighting between the U.S. and Iran that began last week marks a unique moment for Israel: For the first time since October 7, 2023, it is not an active participant in a major Middle Eastern conflict.During the two previous operations against Iran, in June 2025 and February 2026, Israeli jets took part alongside American aircraft, while the U.S. made extensive use of Israel's intelligence, communications satellites and other capabilities.In the current round, however, Washington does not want Israeli jets involved and is not even using Ben-Gurion International Airport to station its refueling aircraft. Yet Israel's exclusion is largely superficial. Behind the scenes, the U.S. still relies heavily on Israeli support, particularly intelligence. American refueling planes at Ben Gurion International Airport, April. Credit: Tomer AppelbaumAmerican refueling planes at Ben Gurion International Airport, April. Credit: Tomer AppelbaumAccording to a former senior Israeli defense official who trained for years alongside the U.S. military and now works in defense technology, "Ultimately, we need the Americans for force projection, while they need us for intelligence, operational capabilities and operationalization" – the process of identifying and verifying a target, translating the intelligence into an operational plan and carrying it out. "We don't have their bombers, but our pilots have accumulated considerable experience that they can contribute to planning, creative problem-solving and the execution of strikes. The relationship is reciprocal."Read the full articleIran tells Houthis to close Red Sea gateway if U.S. strikes power network, sources say Satellite imagery shows Bab el Mandeb Strait, a key shipping waterway and the gateway to the Red Sea, in this handout picture from Sunday. Credit: NASA Worldview via ReutersSatellite imagery shows Bab el Mandeb Strait, a key shipping waterway and the gateway to the Red Sea, in this handout picture from Sunday. Credit: NASA Worldview via ReutersIran has asked Yemen's Houthi movement to stand ready to close the Red Sea oil route through Bab el-Mandeb if the United States strikes Iranian power infrastructure, three sources told Reuters on Thursday, posing a potent new threat to global energy supplies.The idea has been discussed within the Islamic Republic's leadership, and the message has been conveyed to Iran's Houthi allies, two senior Iranian ‌sources and a regional source familiar with the matter said, speaking on condition of anonymity.The sources said the Houthis had been informed recently of Tehran's request, which has not been previously reported.They did not give further details on how it had been conveyed or whether it was after U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to attack Iranian power infrastructure on Tuesday.Iran's foreign ministry and a spokesperson for the Houthi group were not immediately available to respond to Reuters' request.Read the full article6 hours agoGaza hospital director jailed in Israel says he was assaulted by prison guards following lawyer's visitDr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of a major Gaza hospital who has been imprisoned by Israel since 2024, told his lawyer he was assaulted by prison guards following his previous lawyer's visit earlier this month.He further stated that since that visit, he has been held alone in a cell in solitary confinement.According to Physicians for Human Rights Israel, Safiya's reports call for "immediate intervention and an independent and impartial medical and legal examination."Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, handcuffed during a video-link High Court hearing, earlier this month. Credit: Reuters TV via ReutersDr. Hussam Abu Safiya, handcuffed during a video-link High Court hearing, earlier this month. Credit: Reuters TV via ReutersPhysicians for Human Rights Israel has filed a petition demanding the release of 14 Palestinian doctors from the Gaza Strip, including Dr. Abu Safiya, who are detained in Israel without indictment and without trial. The state has called for the petition to be dismissed without a hearing, while the court has requested the petitioners' response by July 19.The state argued in its response to the petition that there was "no indication that Dr. Abu Safiya's life was at risk," and that since he was transferred to Rakefet detention facility, he has been examined several times by medical personnel. 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