War, latest news. Oil prices rise following US-Iran air strikes. UN: appalled by Israel’s proposals on Gaza

Kosovo has signed an agreement to join the nascent International Stabilisation Force for Gaza (ISF). This was announced by the Board of Peace. The agreement was signed by representatives of the small Balkan country, the US-backed Board and the ISF during a ceremony in Pristina, the Board itself reported on X, stating that ‘Kosovo will provide vital support to the mission aimed at implementing President [US] President Trump’s 20-point Peace Plan in Gaza”. In April, the Kosovo parliament had approved the government’s decision to send troops to the force, making today’s signing little more than a formality. So far, five countries have pledged to provide troops to the ISF: Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Albania, whilst Egypt and Jordan have pledged to train the police force. There is as yet no official timetable for the possible deployment of the troops.

Oman has rescued 16 crew members from the Saudi-owned oil tanker Sidr after it was attacked by Iran, according to Al Jazeera. The Sidr was one of two supertankers carrying Saudi oil that were reportedly struck whilst passing through the Strait of Hormuz a week ago. Saudi Arabia stated last Wednesday that the attack on the tanker, owned by the national shipping company Bahri, resulted in the deaths of two Filipino sailors.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, said he was “horrified by Israeli proposals for the forced expulsion of all Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and by the constant stream of dehumanising rhetoric from certain senior officials”. Speaking at a session of the UN Human Rights Council, he noted that Israel continues to restrict humanitarian aid to Gaza and has killed “more than 1,300 Palestinians in daily attacks, despite the ceasefire announced almost a year ago”. Turk stated that Israel’s annexation of the West Bank “is proceeding unhindered despite the clear ruling of the International Court of Justice. ‘What else will it take for states to act to prevent the consolidation of the occupation in the territories designated for the Palestinians under the two-state solution?’, he asked. ‘Words of condemnation ring hollow in the face of deliberate violations and suffering.’

Eleven people have died in Israeli air strikes carried out overnight on a village in southern Lebanon, including two babies. Nine people were killed in an airstrike that destroyed a three-storey residential building in the village of Kfar Remmane, and two rescue workers were killed after their vehicle was hit in the same area. -

“It’s simple: the oil and gas production chain here is extensive, accessible and exposed. American oil and gas companies operating in these waters and at these facilities share that exposure. Hit our infrastructure and you will be hit. We have already demonstrated this. Just ask the bases that are no longer operational.” This was stated on X by the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.

The bodies of 73 children are among the 106 Palestinians buried on Saturday in Gaza. The bodies were recovered from the rubble of a residential building in south-east Gaza City, which was reportedly destroyed more than two years ago by an Israeli air strike. This was reported by Save the Children in a statement. It is the second time in a month that a mass funeral of this scale has been held in Gaza. “Within the space of a month, we have witnessed the same heart-wrenching scene twice in Gaza: children laying flowers and lighting candles on the bodies of other children during a mass funeral,” said Ahmad Alhendawi, Save the Children’s regional director for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe.

“These lives cut short bear witness to the brutal toll this war is taking on the youngest among us. Humanity cannot accept that mass funerals for Palestinian children should become an everyday reality. We cannot stand by and watch whilst this continues,” continued Ahmad Alhendawi. “It has been 332 days since the ‘ceasefire’ agreement was signed, yet more than 300 children have been killed since then. Israeli forces must stop killing, displacing and injuring children,” he concluded.

Oil prices have retreated from their morning highs after Iran said it believed an agreement with Oman on the management of shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was imminent. WTI is unchanged at $91.5 per barrel, whilst Brent is up 0.5 per cent at $96.8. According to Tehran’s foreign minister, as reported by Bloomberg, the agreement – which the two countries have been discussing for weeks – is nearing completion; it will include details of a safe route and will be notified to the UN’s International Maritime Organisation.

“The talks have made very positive progress,” said Baghaei, who called for other countries to refrain from interfering in the negotiations. The prospect of identifying a route allowing larger volumes of oil to pass through the strait has eased the pressure on crude oil prices, which had been under strain due to US attacks on Iranian oil tankers.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, has called on Iran and the United States to resume negotiations immediately, stating that he was “alarmed by the resumption of attacks”. “Recent reports of civilian deaths and injuries, including during a wedding in Hormozgan province, are particularly worrying,” he told the UN Human Rights Council, referring to the US attack on Sirik in which at least four people were killed during a wedding reception. “The geopolitical and economic repercussions of this entirely avoidable crisis are once again being felt around the world,” he added. This was reported by Al Jazeera.

Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence has stated that three “terrorists” were killed by security forces during an operation in Sistan-Baluchistan, an Iranian province bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan, targeting three cells of “terrorists” affiliated with “the American-Zionist enemy” as they were attempting to enter Iranian territory. The security forces’ operation took place as the suspected “terrorists” were entering Iran “and before they could carry out acts of sabotage or terrorism”, according to a statement from the ministry reported by ISNA, which added that nine members of the terrorist cells had been arrested.

“Significant quantities of weapons and ammunition were found and seized from the arrested terrorists,” adds the statement, which states that the cells were dismantled “before they entered the country and before they could carry out acts of sabotage or terrorism”. In addition to the arrest and killing of the three suspects, the security forces “managed to uncover and seize a cache of small arms and light to medium-calibre weapons that had been smuggled into the country clandestinely and illegally”, the statement adds.

“Our policy in Judea and Samaria is clear: to vigorously combat Palestinian terrorism, to develop and strengthen Jewish settlements, and to maintain security and stability.” This was stated by Defence Minister Israel Katz following the stabbing that took place a short while ago in an Israeli settlement in the northern West Bank. “Terrorism in the area is currently at its lowest level in decades, and we will take all necessary measures to prevent it from rearing its head again. Should the situation take a turn for the worse and there be a possibility that the Palestinian Authority’s security apparatus launches a terrorist attack similar to that of 7 October against IDF forces and Jewish settlements, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have instructed the army to prepare for all-out war against senior officials and the security apparatus of the Palestinian Authority, as well as against all terrorist infrastructure in Judea and Samaria, just as we have done in the security zones of Gaza and Lebanon. ‘We will not allow a return to the reality of an intifada that drags on for years, as has happened in the past,’ Katz added.

Iran considers its “defensive” actions to be “entirely legitimate”, including attacks on US military bases in the Middle East. This was stated by the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, as reported by Al Jazeera. “The Islamic Republic of Iran finds itself in a position of legitimate self-defence and defence of national interests due to the ongoing naval blockade and large-scale economic war,” he said. Baghaei told reporters that Tehran considers its actions to be lawful “within the framework of the inherent right to self-defence, enshrined in Article 51 of the United Nations Charter”. “The United States’ resort to attacks against civilians and the killing of children in an attempt to put pressure on the Islamic Republic of Iran completely invalidates their claims,” he remarked.

The Houthis have accused Saudi Arabia of carrying out air raids on various areas of Yemen, whilst the rebels continue their offensive to capture the territory bordering the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait. “The Saudi enemy has targeted the provinces of Jawf, al-Bayda, Marib and Taiz with several air raids and cruise missiles,” reported the Saba news agency, which is affiliated with the Houthi movement.

The ban on trade with illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which the UK intends to impose shortly, is a welcome, albeit belated, first step that must be assessed on the basis of its practical impact. This was stated by Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Territories, in an exclusive interview with The Guardian.

Albanese explained that “the ban on importing goods from the settlements represents a shift in the British government’s position and is absolutely crucial”, adding that she would not join those who dismiss the issue as mere posturing before the details are made public. The UN Special Rapporteur emphasised that the ban on trade with the settlements should form part of “a genuine paradigm shift regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, ultimately aimed at implementing the 2024 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice”, according to which Israel’s presence in the occupied territories is “illegal in its entirety”. The advisory opinion, Albanese noted, states that “all states have an obligation – not a preference – not to recognise the situation as legal and not to provide aid or assistance for its maintenance”.

Iran has issued a warning to South Korea, calling on Seoul not to be an “accomplice” to US operations against the Islamic Republic in the Strait of Hormuz. “Any other country that maintains a military presence or takes part in operations in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz can only be regarded as a direct supporter of the perpetrators of the aggression, and this will have serious consequences,” said the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei.

“No sovereign and responsible country should give in to American pressure and threats and become an accomplice to acts of aggression and the horrific crimes against the great Iranian people”, the official added, as reported by Al Jazeera, whilst South Korea had stated in recent days that it was considering a possible contribution to US operations in the Strait of Hormuz.

The United States is trying to make the world foot the bill for the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which was completely open before they themselves unleashed the war against Iran. This is according to a post on X by the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei.

“The Strait of Hormuz was completely open until 28 February, when the United States attacked Iran,” recalls Baghaei. Washington has unleashed an illegal and brutal war in the region, disrupting the normal flow of commercial maritime traffic; oil tankers have been halted, trade has been cut off and energy prices have risen. Now the United States is trying to make the world foot the bill for a disruption it itself caused, by shifting the blame onto Iran. In Washington’s narrative, a war started by the United States must somehow be presented as the price the world is paying because of Iran’s behaviour.”

An average of 10 merchant ships have passed through the Strait of Hormuz each day in recent days, the lowest figure since May, following the US and Iranian attacks on oil tankers. This is according to shipping data analysed by Kpler and reported by Reuters online. The 10-day moving average stood at 10 ships on Sunday, down from over 15 on Friday and nearly 13 on Saturday, according to data from the analytics firm Kpler. Only two vessels passed through the strait on Saturday, whilst six passed through yesterday, mostly using the Iranian route. According to the maritime intelligence firm Marisks, Saturday’s exchange of attacks between Iran and the US against oil tankers represents a “serious escalation in the maritime conflict”.

“Commercial oil tankers are now being deliberately used as instruments of mutual economic pressure, substantially blurring the previous distinction between military confrontation and commercial maritime traffic,” he added. “Consequently, the risk is assessed as extreme for Iranian or Iran-linked vessels, and high for maritime traffic linked to or escorted by the United States in the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman.” Since 6 July, there have been 27 incidents involving projectiles causing damage to vessels operating in Hormuz and the surrounding areas, according to the UK-based UKMTO in its weekly report. No supertankers have left the strait since Wednesday, according to data from Kpler.

At least nine people were killed, including two children, and a further five were injured in Israeli attacks on a residential building in a town in southern Lebanon in the early hours of today, according to the Lebanese state news agency.

Over the weekend, Iran and the United States launched what appear to have been the most extensive reciprocal attacks on oil tankers ever recorded, driving up oil prices as both countries continue to escalate a war that has now been going on for six months and has disrupted maritime traffic and fuelled global inflation.

Iran has stated that it struck three US-linked vessels travelling on an unauthorised route through the Strait of Hormuz, in retaliation for the US attacks on Iranian oil tankers over the weekend. The US military had previously stated that it had struck three Iranian oil tankers carrying crude oil, one of which was destroyed, in response to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targeting two US Navy warships with ballistic missiles.

The Israeli army says it carried out overnight strikes against Hamas “infrastructure” in Gaza after one of its vehicles drove over an explosive device planted by the Palestinian group. The explosion reportedly took place in the north of the Gaza Strip, behind the “Yellow Line”, the area occupied by Israeli forces. No one was injured. The incident comes against the backdrop of ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza, despite the US-brokered ceasefire. The United Nations Human Rights Office stated on 4 September that “no place and no one in Gaza is safe”, adding that Palestinians continue to face “daily terror” in the war-torn territory.

Violence, theft, demolitions. Sometimes even murders. Like the other residents of Umm al-Khair, Salem al-Hathaleen’s family has learnt to brace themselves for the worst. They could not, however, have imagined that their courtyard would be turned into a ‘closed military zone’. For the past two months, an Israeli flag has been planted two metres from the wall of their house. When Salem’s wife, Ikhlas, opens the bedroom window, it feels as though she could almost touch it. Twenty metres away stand the settlers’ mobile homes. Their new neighbours are nowhere to be seen. But from those windows, in the silence, the Hathaleen family can feel their eyes upon them.

The only toilet for the 14 family members, built in the garden, has been surrounded by barbed wire for two months. Ever since the army intervened at the end of June to quell yet another attack by settlers, the entire courtyard has been declared a military zone. And that includes the toilet. For the past two months, the Hathaleen family have had to cross the road and ask their neighbours for help. Even at night. They can only feed and water their animals – which are also kept in the garden – once every three days. If they’re lucky.

Following the explosion of a device on the Yellow Line, the IDF announced that it had struck Hamas-linked infrastructure in the Gaza Strip. “Yesterday (Sunday), an IDF engineering vehicle drove over an explosive device belonging to the Hamas terrorist organisation on the Yellow Line, north of the Gaza Strip,” the IDF wrote on Telegram. “No soldiers were injured. This constitutes a blatant violation of the ceasefire by Hamas. In response, overnight the IDF struck Hamas terrorist infrastructure used to prepare attacks against civilians and military personnel. IDF troops under the Southern Command remain deployed in the area in accordance with the agreement and will continue to operate to eliminate any threat.”